If Only You'd Listened
by fett8802
Summary: An alternate reality retelling of the last half of the movie. Explores what would have happened if the ending in the movie didn't. Picks up right after the romantic flight. Enjoy and please review! Will be dark.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an alternate reality retelling of the last half of the movie. It picks up after the romantic flight and explores what would have happened if the good ending didn't. It's dark. Enjoy! Please review! This isn't a one shot, so don't worry. More is coming.**

**_Chapter 1_  
**

_It's hard being fifteen. _

Until a few weeks ago, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III son of Stoic the Vast; chief to the Vikings of Berk, had a rather miserable existence. He lived in a society of Vikings hell bent on killing the dragons that constantly raided their village. Instead of being big and strong like all the other Vikings, Hiccup was a meager toothpick of a human. Being a teenager was hard enough without being the only Viking his age unable to do any harm whatsoever to a dragon.

Hiccup had an insatiable urge to be like his father, the strongest Viking of all. This urge had, on more than one occasion, caused a great deal of trouble for the rest of the village. He was a black smith apprentice studying under a Viking named Gobber. He would often forsake his duties in an attempt to kill dragons during the raids.

Hiccup's luck turned around one dark night during a dragon raid. Getting up to his usual antics, he managed to down a Night Fury; the most feared of all dragons. Over the next few weeks, he befriended and trained this dragon whom he called Toothless – whose mouth was actually full of teeth.

The young female Viking of Hiccup's adoration was strong of will and of weapon. Astrid, as she was called, held a general contempt for the boy, despite his best efforts at friendship and kindness. Once he began to improve in dragon training under the watchful eye of his friend and black smith master Gobber, Astrid became curious as to how he improved.

Astrid followed Hiccup into the woods one afternoon and discovered his secret – a pet dragon. To prove to her how wonderful Toothless was, he managed to get her to go flying with them. During the flight, Astrid had a change of heart; seeing both the worth of a dragon as well as the worth of Hiccup.

On this flight, Toothless took the two Vikings to the dragon's nesting grounds. It was here they discovered a terrible truth – the dragons were stealing the Viking's food and returning it to their "queen." This queen dragon was monstrously large and fast, forcing the smaller dragons into submission through fear. After a narrow escape, the two took to the skies once again.

After a wonderful and romantic flight through the beautiful nighttime skies of Berk, the two landed. It is now that we catch up with young Hiccup and his lady Astrid.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"No no, it totally makes sense," Astrid began as Toothless was landing gracefully.

"It's like a giant beehive. They are the workers and that is their queen. It controls them. Let's find your dad!"

"No! No, not yet. They'll kill Toothless. Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully."

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon's nest. The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?"

His answer was frank, but with sadness. "Yes."

There was a long pause, as understanding came to Astrid. Her eyes glowed in the soft moonlight, a thing of such beauty that Hiccup simply stared. Toothless bent down to drink from the nearby pool of water. The two continued looking at each other with deadly serious looks. Then, she relaxed.

"Ok." She gave in. It was clear how important Toothless was to Hiccup and how much he had risked in befriending him. His importance was also dawning on Astrid. Everything they had ever known about dragons was wrong. They were peaceful; playful even. Toothless had done his best to impress her with his flying abilities. Why would the most terrifying dragon in all of vikingdom do that?

Astrid knew now that she wanted as much to do with Toothless and Hiccup as possible. It had taken bravery to tame the most dangerous beast that had ever come to Berk. In fact, she had begun to realize, during the flight, that she had always held an interest in Hiccup. She would never have admitted it to herself or to anyone else, but she knew that the attraction had always been there.

Perhaps it was this weird attraction that had caused her stern attitude towards him in the past. Don't the adults always tell kids that when someone picks on you it's because they like you? She wasn't sure if that was the case yet, but feelings had definitely begun to form as they flew through the night.

"Then what do we do?" She asked lightly, feeling every word as she gave control of the situation to Hiccup; control that she wasn't used to giving away.

"Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out." His head turned and he stared at the ground.

"Ok."

She was worried now. Hiccup, through his mastery of the dragons, had won the right to slay a dragon in front of the entire village. It was this right that he had bested her to obtain. This "final exam" of dragon training was happening tomorrow, whether she wanted it to or not.

"Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You're going to have to kill the dragon."

Her voice was thick with concern. It was all she could do not to choke up. Odin must have a strange sense of humor, she thought. To give Hiccup such a gift only to take it from him. And to show her what love could be like – if that's indeed what she was feeling.

"I know." He was taking off his flying harness.

"What are you going to do?" She clutched his forearm. The worry in her voice now palpable and reflected in her eyes.

"I'm going to have to make them see that dragons are only dangerous because we attack them." She squeezed his arm tighter, laying her head against his shoulder. Hiccup liked this very much. Astrid, however, was growing more fearful, as if a cloud of melancholy was settling over her. They stayed like this a few moments more and parted. He moved toward his dragon while she just watched him. Her heart was growing for him by the second.

She began to turn around to leave but hesitated. He was taking the saddle off of Toothless. She approached him from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and without a word; she punched him on the right arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Hiccup chirped. Toothless gave a low growl.

"That was for kidnapping me."

Hiccup looked indignantly at Astrid and he began a retort, but he couldn't make it. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her. Her lips smacked into his. The kiss was quick and was over as soon as it began; which wasn't nearly long enough in Hiccup's estimation. He was too stunned to speak.

"And that… was for everything else."

Astrid turned and ran off into the darkness of the woods. Unbeknownst to Hiccup, tears were steadily falling down Astrid's cheeks. Her emotions were all over the place. A lot had happened in a very short amount of time. To top it off, she had a pervading sense of dread. His exam wasn't going to end well, that much she knew. How could it? She ran with all her might, trying to outrun her fear. It wasn't working.

Hiccup was beginning to feel the same. Toothless didn't seem to be feeling the dread. He lapped up the water and observed Hiccup as he collected the riding gear. His wings were tired and he began to stretch them as his human seemed to change his mind about the gear. He packed the reigns, harness, and suit into the pouch attached to the saddle. Once everything was neatly placed, he approached Toothless.

"Here bud, just in case."

Grudgingly, Toothless let his human attach the saddle to his back. Once the straps were in place, Hiccup hugged his dragon around the neck, his worry increasing. It was now that Toothless began to feel that unknowable sense of wrong. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't like it.

"Well bud, keep an ear out tomorrow morning. I may need you." He scratched the dragon beneath his chin, and Toothless growled with pleasure. His back right leg began to kick and Hiccup smiled. With that, Toothless burned some ground for his bed and cuddled into his tail. Hiccup gave him one last pat on the head and turned toward the woods.

As he walked toward home, his thoughts drifted from the worry of tomorrow; instead focusing on the wonderful day spent with Astrid. He smiled again. He could still feel her grip around his chest as she clung to him flying through the skies. He could feel her chin on his shoulder and her hair against his cheek. He put his hand on his neck, remembering the exquisite feeling of her breath against his skin.

Toothless watched his human walk into the distance. A warm smile appeared on his face as his hand brushed his neck. It was one of the last smiles Toothless would ever see on his human.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hiccup couldn't have asked for a better day to kill his first dragon on; and he didn't. The sun was bright, the air was crisp, and crowd assembling at the dragon pit was eager for blood. A good amount of the Vikings had left a few weeks ago to hunt for the dragon nest and come back with their numbers significantly dwindled. It was that dwindling the crowd hoped to watch be avenged today.

From all around, Hiccup could hear the cries of angry men, women, and children pleading for a violent show. He approached the pits from across the bridge into town. To his front, across the bridge, people cheered. He could vaguely make out the shape of his father talking to the crowd upon the stone platform. No one else was on the bridge. There was no sight of Astrid. Carrying only the helmet his father had given him and with a heavy heart, he began his trek across the bridge.

It was one of the longest journeys in his young life. Time seemed to slow while his mind raced through his options, all the while the crowd roared. As he approached the end of the bridge, his friends appeared; Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins, and Gobber. Each had a smiling expression. Gobber's face held the proud look of a father.

When Hiccup reached the crowd he received many pats (more like strikes) on the back; pushing him ever onward. His mind made up, Hiccup walked onto the downward ramp that led into the dragon pit. Once inside with the outer door closed, life was much quieter.

It was here that he, at last, saw Astrid. The sight of her greatly lifted his spirits. She quickly wiped away a tear and came up to him.

"You're going up against the Monstrous Nightmare. They catch themselves on fire. I'm so worried, Hiccup." She embraced him forcefully. The hug was tight.

"Me too, Astrid."

They stood like that a few seconds more before Astrid broke loose.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to show them. I have to try."

Held at arms length and with watery eyes, Astrid was the most beautiful thing Hiccup's eyes had ever beheld. He knew, at this moment, that he loved her. There was no question.

"Astrid… I..." He paused. "…if something happens today, please make sure they don't find Toothless." He looked down at the ground.

"I will, I promise. Just make sure that nothing goes wrong."

Surprising herself at the statement, Astrid looked into the bravery on Hiccup's face. There was no greater rock or hard place and Hiccup was facing his head on. The feeling hit her hard, square in the stomach. It was the most real feeling she had ever had. She realized that she loved him.

The sudden burst of unspoken feelings from both party made the air thick with passion and the two embraced once again.

"Please. Be safe, Hiccup. I'll be waiting right here for you."

"I'll be careful."

A forlorn look in his eye, Hiccup turned toward the gate leading into the pit. As soon as Astrid's face was out of view, the sound of the crowd came rushing back. The gate slowly began to rise. With one more look back to the woman he loved, Hiccup trotted nervously into the dragon pit alone.

The noise was deafening. Ahead of him, he could see the rack of weapons. Gigantic hammers, two-handed broadswords, a bow and a quiver of arrows, a spear, several shields, and a few daggers. Approaching the rack, he took a shield and a dagger. The crowd gave a hardy, good natured laugh at his choice of weapon.

The crowd seemed to think it a challenge Hiccup was imposing on himself against the second worst dragon type they knew of; to use such a meager weapon against a Monstrous Nightmare. He straightened his helmet and said, "I'm ready."

At his cue, the giant door in front of him began opening. Through the cracks, he could make out the fire in the pin behind. With a sudden burst, the door slammed open and the Monstrous Nightmare flew out, throwing streams of fire at the walls and the crowd. The roof of the pit was netting made of chain link and it held strong while the dragon slithered along it. Hiccup merely watched the dragon as it, with incredible speed, wound its way around the pit looking for an escape point.

When it couldn't find one, it redirected its attention to the lone Viking standing center ring. It approached cautiously. This human seemed weak and sickly. Surely this was a human trap. Or maybe the humans were sacrificing one of their own. Either way, it came to Hiccup slowly.

"It's ok." Hiccup stated, with a warm tone in his voice.

Slowly, so as not to startle the dragon, Hiccup lifted both of his hands and dropped the shield and the dagger. Cries of fear came from the crowd. Shouts of "What's he doing?" and "Oh! He'll die!" issued forth from the blood lusting populous above.

Unsure of his actions, he turned to look at Astrid once again. Her look reassured him and he turned back toward the dragon. This time, his hands went to his bone spiked helmet. Removing it from his head, he held it out toward the dragon for a second before throwing it to the side.

"It's ok. I'm not one of them." With that, he inched his hand toward the dragon's snout.

More cries came from the crowd – also, something was else was happening. Just before his hand could come into contact with the dragon, he heard a very distinct voice.

"Stop the fight!" his father, Stoic, hollered into the pit. He had made his way right next to the netting with a clear look at Hiccup.

"No! I need you to see this." He resumed nearing the dragon again, when Stoic screamed louder.

"I said stop the fight!" This time, Stoic hammed the railing so hard that it bent the metal and scared the Monstrous Nightmare standing just inches from Hiccup.

At the noise, Hiccup tried to settle the dragon, but it was no use; it had been spooked. He could see the glow within the dragon's jaw signifying it was preparing to strike. Unbeknownst to the frightened Hiccup, Stoic was making his way through the thick crowd headed for the entrance gate to the pit.

Somewhere in the distance, Toothless woke suddenly from a bad dream. He couldn't figure out why, but something was telling him to fly. Then he heard the commotion from Berk. The noise was faint, but there was fear in the voices. He remembered the previous night that his human had put his saddle back on and realized this must have been why. Hiccup was in trouble.

He couldn't fly well without his human rider controlling his tail fin, but he had to try. As the screams intensified, Toothless dug at the rock ledges acting as his prison with all of his might. After several falls, his claws finally connected and he was away.

Astrid watched horrified as Hiccup narrowly managed to escape the first burst of fire from the Monstrous Nightmare's throat. Something inside her turned on and she reached for a battle axe. She no longer thought; she acted on instinct. Her body and mind were in one accord now, moving without her conscious thought. She didn't even hear herself screaming Hiccup's name.

She used the axe as a prop against the gate, prying it just far enough off the ground that she was able to squeeze below it, into the pit. She was opposite the pit from Hiccup and the dragon, but not for long. The two of them were headed straight toward her. She saw the recognition and worry cross his face as he realized she was in the pit with him. At this realization, he altered course to his right. The dragon followed and the two ran right across Astrid's field of view.

At her feet lay what was left of the weapons rack. Again, without thinking, she grabbed for a sizable hammer and hurled it in the dragon's direction. The hammer connected beautifully with the side of the beast's face; stunning it.

In the interim from attacks, Hiccup managed to grab his shield from off the ground. Astrid, still near the weapons rack, did the same. As the dragon came to, his blurred vision fixed on the source of his sudden painful headache. He lunged toward Astrid, mouth glowing red hot with anticipation of flame.

It was all she could do to hold her shield in place as the flames shot from the dragon's maw. The heat was nearly unbearable, but bare it she did. Once the shot ended, she hurled what was left of her shield at the dragon's face. By this time, Hiccup was at her side, pulling her away from the blast zone in front of the monster.

Her senses kicked in again and the quickest of happy thoughts passed through her mind when she felt Hiccup pulling her by the arm. Despite the situation she couldn't help but smirk at the gesture.

The two could hear "oohs" and "ahhs" coming from the crowd now as Stoic neared the entrance. The dragon was still shaking its head, ridding itself of wood pieces, as Stoic literally ripped the cast-iron gate off the ground.

"This way!" he shouted at the two teenagers.

Hiccup ran across the pit with Astrid. They could hear the dragon charging behind them. Astrid had almost reached Stoic when the blast of fire came over their shoulders, raining down from the gate, blocking their path. They turned around and ran frantically for their lives hearing Stoic's screams behind them.

Suddenly the crowd made an altogether different kind of noise. They were afraid for themselves. An unearthly shriek rang out above all the noise of the crowd and dragon and someone yelled, "Night Fury! Get down!"

There was an explosion that rocked the pit and a giant cloud of smoke erupted into the proceedings. Hiccup felt the briefest sense of relief knowing that Toothless had arrived. The relief quickly faded when he realized that his secret would soon be out in the open. The two young Vikings paused and turned around toward the billowing smoke.

There wasn't much to see, but there was plenty to hear. Screeching, hissing, and growling as the two dragons fought for their lives. To complicate matters, other Vikings were pouring in from the entrance gate and the hole that Toothless had opened in the netting.

Toothless and the Monstrous Nightmare rolled out of the smoke into plain view. There were gasps heard from above. Toothless was under the other dragon, which was biting at his neck. Toothless' legs, however, proved the victor and he threw the Monstrous Nightmare off.

Hiccup and Astrid were cowered against the rock wall opposite the gate now, clutched in each other's arms. They couldn't see anything or anyone besides the smoke and two angry dragons facing off head to head. It was clear that the Monstrous Nightmare wanted to get to the two humans and it was also clear that Toothless had absolutely no intention of letting that happen.

Toothless worked his way in between the dragon and the teens and bared his teeth. He snapped, clawed, and struck at the advancing Nightmare. When the other dragon finally made his move, he shot his head past Toothless straight for Astrid's face. Toothless turned his head right and clamped his jaw down on the beast's neck, severing his spinal cord.

Flame gurgled and came out in short bursts, as if the dragon was vomiting. His eyes rolled back into his skull and his body lay limp. Some in the crowd above cheered at the reckless violence; at finally seeing what a Night Fury truly could do. Hiccup ran up to Toothless.

"Okay boy, time to go. Get out of here." Hiccup yelled, pushing at the dragon's head. It was clear the dragon wasn't going to move. Now that the threat of both dragons was gone, more Viking's started pouring into the pit. The original Vikings were making their way through the smoke now, with Stoic in the lead. Stoic had the battle axe that Astrid had used as a prop.

"No dad! He won't hurt you!"

But there was fire in his eyes. The betrayal he felt from his son, the anger at the dragon, and the stresses of leadership all clearly visible in his burning stare. He wanted nothing more at this moment that to kill that dragon.

"No no no!" Hiccup screamed as the other, closer Viking's began moving in on Toothless. He took them out, one by one, relatively easily. The most it took was a single kick to the chest and the Viking wouldn't be getting back up. His tail was especially effective, taking many Vikings off their feet at once.

When Stoic finally arrived at the feet of Toothless, he threw a single punch that connected with the dragon's jaw bone. Toothless was knocked to the side, on top of Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup felt excruciating pain in his left leg, but was able to protect Astrid from harm.

Toothless tore at the ground with his claws, desperate to get back up. Once he found his footing, he launched himself at Stoic with vicious force. The two tumbled ending with Toothless on top, baring his teeth, ready for a death blow. Stoic knew that this was the moment he was going to die.

"Toothless, NO!"

At the sound of Hiccup's voice, Toothless relented, and stepped back from Stoic. The other Viking's had, by now, set up a circle around the four. Hiccup had his arm around Astrid, bracing himself against her. His leg felt like someone was sticking knives into him over and over.

Toothless quickly moved toward his human, still in a defensive stance. For a second, no one moved. Stoic returned to his feet, but stayed where he was.

"Hiccup! You have betrayed us!" his father screamed with all the fury of a Viking of Berk. The look he gave his father was the look of resignation and defeat.

Hiccup made the hardest decision of his life.

He turned toward the girl he loved.

"Thank you… thank you for everything." With his hard around her neck, he pulled her toward him and with every ounce of passion he had, kissed her.

Hiccup pulled back, let go of Astrid, and quickly mounted Toothless. Without another word, Toothless shot out of the pin into the open sky with Hiccup on his back.

It took several seconds for Astrid to fully comprehend what had happened. When she got her senses back, she found that she, for the first time in her life, had tears falling uncontrollably down her face. As Hiccup and his dragon became a speck in the distance, her heart sank lower and lower. It wasn't until later that Astrid realized that her right pant leg was soiled with blood that was not her own.

Around her, the angry cries of Stoic and the rest were escalating. People in the crowed called for Hiccup's death, for Stoic's resignation as chief, and for things worse than that. Stoic was screaming the feral scream of the Viking, swinging the battle axe with reckless abandon until he found the corpse of the Monstrous Nightmare. He hacked away at the body, swinging through his anger. Only Gobber could remember seeing Stoic so angry before.

From behind him, Hiccup could still hear the commotion. He was too stunned to cry, but the feelings were there. He had just lost everything he ever held dear. His father had forced this on him. Could he still get Astrid back? What could he possibly do? Questions and resentment swirled around inside his head while pain throbbed from his leg.

He looked at it. His left foot had been crushed by Toothless' weight. He could still move the muscles around a bit and figured it would eventually get better.

_How could it have come to this? _

He had no idea where he was going to go, but he knew one thing. He had to get far away from here right now. Toothless looked toward the sky and flew away from Berk until long past dark.

AN: Please review! I appreciate good feedback and constructive criticism. If anyone would like to beta for me, I'd appreciate it. Just send me a PM. Reviews are really what keep me writing, as I get no compensation for anything I write on here. Thank you so much for reading!

-Kris


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to my beta reader, meggie6! I hope you all enjoy!  
**

**I Wish You'd Listened**

**Chapter 2 **

_I wish I could go back to yesterday._

Hiccup awoke feeling very cold. It was dark as he lay a few feet away from the ocean on a starlit beach. Beside him was a sleeping Toothless. He glanced at the beach in front of him leading to the ocean. It looked as if a deep trench, starting somewhere a few feet into the ocean, had been dug up to where the two lay.

In fact, that trench had been created by a crash landing dragon. After Hiccup had flown away from Berk, it was all he could do with his maimed foot to stay on Toothless and keep a level flight pattern. Eventually, he succumbed to the blood loss and pain and lost consciousness. Toothless valiantly tried his best to maintain flight, but he couldn't manage to get lift. He was high enough that he could glide on his own power for a while; and that he did.

Toothless caught sight of a cove and headed toward it. He managed a steady and even descent without too many problems. The landing was his problem. Trying to keep Hiccup from falling off, Toothless came in too quick. Without his tail operating correctly, he couldn't adjust for the sudden change in angle and drop in altitude and made a watery crash landing. The two bodies plowed through the sand and up the embankment.

The crash didn't stir Hiccup from his pain induced sleep. Toothless, left with nothing to do but wait for his human to wake, searched in vain for something to eat. This particular island was pretty small and there was no game to be found. Giving up on food for that night, Toothless seared the ground around his human and lay down to sleep. It was just a little after Toothless made his bed that Hiccup had woken.

Looking back toward Toothless, Hiccup suddenly remembered the ripping pain in his left leg. He chocked back tears as he looked down at the damage. He could still manage to move the ligaments enough to rock his foot slowly back and forth, but that was the extent of his movement. Each time his foot moved, it felt like knives stabbing him over and over. It was easily the most pain he'd ever been in.

_Yea, it's only fun if you get a scare out of it. _

Astrid's voice rang through his head. Her statement at the beginning of their dragon training seemed almost prophetic now. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but it was clear that a significant amount of skin was missing. The leg must have been drug across the rock as Toothless fell. The only things he had to patch up the wound were a few extra straps from the dragon harness and a blanket that was packed into the saddle bag.

Hiccup got to work making a tourniquet out of the straps, and bandages out of the blanket. He was sad to have to cut the blanket up; it was the one that he had shared with Astrid as they flew through the clouds. He made sure to keep a patch of blanket for him to keep.

Once he was finished, Hiccup looked over his handiwork. He had had to remove what was left of his boot and was surprised to see how swollen his ankle had become. The bandages had begun to turn a faint shade of red now, dampening with blood. The tourniquet seemed to be holding though and the pain had diminished slightly. He tried moving the entire leg.

That was a bad idea. Pain surged through his body and his vision began to fade. Toothless woke just in time to see his human, newly bandaged, fall over asleep.

………….

_He was high in the sky again, flying with Astrid. Her arms clutched tightly across his chest as she enjoyed the ride through the air. __Toothless was flying smoothly now__ with the dry wind blowing through their hair. He glanced at his foot. It was in fine working condition. Everything up here was beautiful. The clouds were beautiful. The stars in the night sky were beautiful. The northern lights were beautiful. Astrid was… beautiful. The most beautiful. _

_ The moon brightened her face in exquisite detail. In all his life, Hiccup couldn't remember a more perfect moment. His luck had finally changed. A new best friend and the girl he had loved since they were little both together with him. Nothing could take this happiness from him. _

_ In front, the moon seemed to melt away into a glowing sun. The night sky quickly brightened, almost becoming like day. The heat around the trio was intensifying. The light began to grow brighter and brighter until everything but the sun had been wiped from view. Hiccup thought he could hear familiar laughter coming from the intense glowing orb. _

_ Then he knew the source. The orb turned to slowly reveal the shape of Stoic. He was gigantic and seemed to be made of the brightest flame. Scared now, Toothless tried to reverse course. The effort was futile__. The giant Stoic moved as well. Like an omnipotent being, he was always in front._

_ Astrid screamed with fear. Hiccup turned to face her and as he did, she erupted into flames. His most precious possession was burning before his eyes. Toothless, pained by the flames, quickly spun, throwing Astrid from the saddle. Hiccup watched as his beloved fell into the nothingness below them, burning all the way. Her screams pierced his soul. _

_ "Hahaha! Hiccup! You traitor! You threw your lot in with them. You are no Viking. You are not my son!"_

_ With that, Toothless erupted into flame below him. It seemed like seconds and Toothless had completely burned away. Hiccup was falling into emptiness hearing his father's cold heartless laughs. He expected to hit a bottom, but none came. _

_ With one last look up at his father, Hiccup burst into flames. The light was blinding now, as was the pain he felt. Then darkness. Existence seemed to have vanished. _

_ Except for the pain. His entire body writhed with it. Slowly, it receded to encompassing his torso and legs. Eventually the excruciating pain had dulled everywhere except his left ankle._

………….

Hiccup awoke in a feverish sweat. Toothless was making a low sad growling sound with a worried expression. Hiccup instantly regretted using the blanket as bandages as he was now very cold. He felt his forehead which ran with sweat and could only guess he had a high fever.

He had never before felt this fear of his father and what he was capable of. His nightmare significantly added to his apprehension at possibly having to face his father again. Vikings sometimes believed dreams to be prophetic, but Hiccup had never believed in the more superstitious things in Vikingdom. For now, he put his nightmare out of mind.

His leg was splitting in pain now, but he had a little bit more mobility than the last time. Toothless waddled over and put his head beneath his humans arm, giving him a softer spot to lie on. The sky was growing a little brighter; must be nearing morning. Nothing around Hiccup looked familiar. He hoped that Toothless would be able to find their way back home. He desperately wanted to see Astrid at least once more before he left Berk for good.

_I'll try to talk to my dad once more._

Hiccup had only little hope that his father would forgive him and forget everything that had happened.

_No. It can never be what it was again. But maybe he'll listen and perhaps an agreement can be made. _

He figured he'd be flying to someplace new and excited in the near future. Hopefully that would include Astrid.

_A new life together with Astrid? Would she come with me?_

He doubted it very much, but he could hold out hope. A vagabond life with the girl he loved would be much better than any life he hoped to achieve in Berk. After all, he wasn't actually killing or even hurting any of the dragons in dragon training. Even if he had gone along with it and killed the Monstrous Nightmare, his secret would have come out eventually.

_Surely this was for the best. Right? Right, Odin?_

As he looked into the rising sun, his thoughts once again drifted to Astrid. He closed his eyes and tried to numb himself to the pain. It didn't work. So, he let himself pass in and out of awareness.

The pain caused him to lose and regain consciousness many times that morning and into the afternoon. Each time, his dreams were filled with dread and worry. Sometimes, however, he'd have that ever sweet dream of his lady and the dragon born once again flying into the skies of freedom.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Astrid awoke with a start. She glanced quickly across the room as reality set back in, the nightmare was over. Three days had passed since Hiccup had flown away from Berk and each night had brought with it terrible nightmares. She wiped the sweat from her brow and sat up. She had a slight headache and groaned at the tenseness of her muscles. She sat contemplating her life and Hiccup.

……

Over the last three days, her life had changed in unexpected ways. The aftermath of the chaos at the dragon training grounds had been terrible. Stoic butchered that dragon until one could scarcely tell what type of dragon it had been. Most of the village had dispersed back to their homes afterward, but some had stayed to help with the clean up.

Astrid had been left shell shocked. The terror from the dragon attack, watching Toothless fight it, seeing Hiccup leave, seeing what Stoic had done to the dead dragon, had all overwhelmed her. She had just sat there, arms limp, staring forward as the rest of the Vikings began cleaning up the carcass. No one seemed to pay her much attention. After what seemed like ages, Gobber finally walked over and escorted her out of the ring.

Gobber had been concerned about the blood on her pant leg, asking if she was alright. Realizing it was Hiccup's blood, her eyes welled with tears. After leaving the ring and regaining her composure, Astrid ran to the clearing that Hiccup had been using to house Toothless. She found the clearing empty. It was nearly nightfall but she decided to wait anyway. Besides, she didn't want to be anywhere near Stoic or the village right now. She needed to think. She pulled some brush and twigs together and lay down. Her face to the sky, she sat and pondered the last two days' events.

She had always been very strong and hard necked for a girl, even for a Viking. Her drive to become the best at whatever she did often prevented her from developing any lasting friendships. This led inevitably to resentment for those that had a hard time being close to her. While she didn't have any out and out enemies, she was just as much an outcast as Hiccup had been. Her life, however, had been much easier in that regard. While the kids made fun of Hiccup, they respected her ability to retaliate too much to say anything negative to her. At best, she had pseudo-friends too afraid to be themselves around her.

This cycle had continued for most of her life. All she had ever wanted, like Hiccup, was to kill dragons and be one of the Vikings. To be accepted for whom she was. She knew now that she, also like Hiccup, could never kill a dragon after seeing their true nature.

Anger slowly built up at the deception she had been fed her entire life about the dragons. This anger ebbed as she realized that the deception was because the leaders of the clan had most likely never seen their true nature. However, she had seen their true personality and couldn't bring herself to hating them the way she used to. She had used that hatred to fuel her ambition. That hatred was gone now, as was her will to kill them.

She knew that they would probably ask her to complete the dragon training ritual, since Hiccup could not. They would ask her to kill a dragon in front of the crowd. Probably now more so than before, they would require as much bloodshed as possible. The village, and Stoic, would want to see a dragon die painfully for what happened that afternoon.

Astrid made up her mind that she would refuse the battle. She could make up some excuse about the mental trauma of the day and needed some time to work it all out. They would probably put Fishlegs in there against a gronkle. He could handle it. Ok, so that was out of the way. What's the next fire to put out? What's next?

_What's next?_

Her eyes opened wide.

"What's next?" She said out loud to no one.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she had been dwelling on this question. So far, her brain had kept it back. Except here it was, in all its ugliness.

She couldn't kill dragons anymore. In fact, she would be vocally against it. There was no place in Berk for that kind of Viking; especially considering what Stoic had done to that carcass. She was afraid of him now. Never had she seen anyone so recklessly violent in anger.

Besides that, the entire village had seen her run to the aid of that "traitor" Hiccup. Not only that, but the village had watched as he spoke his last words to her, kissing her as he left. She could maybe use that to her advantage; say that she only ran in to help him because they were secretly involved.

"I didn't know beforehand about his dragon. I only liked him because he was becoming the best Viking in the training class. That's why I leapt in to save him." She tried it out on her tongue. It tasted awful. Her eyes began to tear up. She quickly blinked away the moisture gathering in her eyes, making the starry sky slightly blurry.

This led her to consider why it was she liked Hiccup. No, why she now knew she loved him. How could that possibly have happened? She had made sure to harden her heart against such feelings. Her parent's marriage had been the result of circumstance and equal need; not of emotion or love. That's what she had always thought of marriage. No one ended up with the one they loved unless it was in those old stories the elder women told young girls.

So then, what about her feelings for Hiccup? She had always been intrigued by his awkwardness around everyone. She felt a certain kinship in that they were both outcasts by definition. There might even have been some protecting instinct thrown in the mix. She did, after all, save his life on many occasions. Female instincts be damned.

But there was no way such strong feelings could have just appeared, right? Maybe, she considered, they had been developing for a long time. Her hardened heart and cold nature had just killed them. Her hatred for the dragons and ambition to be the absolute best Viking had quelled them. This obsession with perfection.

All that had been thrown out the window the previous night. Her ambition for dragon slaying, her hatred of the beasts, her preconceived notions of Hiccup; all gone. Then she remembered her single moment of clarity. The bravery with which he faced his impossible situation.

In fact, as she recalled his actions throughout their life, he had always shown bravery. She couldn't remember him being afraid, not even once. Sure, he didn't always have the physical means to best an opponent or barrier, but he always met his obstacle with a wry remark and almost casual disregard for his own safety. She had watched him run through town from a Monstrous Nightmare on the night he downed Toothless and he showed no fear. In fact, he was only breathing hard due to the sprinting. Sure he ran, but that was out of self preservation, not fear.

It was the one trait that Astrid valued above all others. She held immense bravery within herself. However, she had the means to back it up; strong will, fighting spirit, the ability and prowess to fight. Hiccup had none of these things and still showed bravery. In the dragon pen that afternoon, she had been the one shell shocked. Hiccup had been the one to face his father and the entire village and escape anyway, knowing his fate.

At the mere thought, she swooned. Warmth ran over her body and she smiled. That was it. She had been falling for him for a long time. Her heart had squashed the feelings until his bravery had shown them to her. She could now say something most Viking women could not; she knew true love.

Her heart swelled and she knew a happiness she had never known before. Suddenly, it seemed as if everything were going to turn out okay in the end. Hiccup would return for her and together they would ride off into the sunset. Sure, she still had her tough Vikingess exterior (and she could certainly still best Hiccup with a blade), but now she had access to her loving side. And she liked it very much.

Astrid decided on her plan. Hoping against hope that Hiccup would return for her, she would go with him; wherever that may be. She had nothing left here in this village of dragon killers. Odin knows she didn't have anyone she could call a friend and her parents weren't exactly the loving sort. All she really had now was Hiccup and Toothless.

While that thought slightly depressed her, her next thought brought her back up. She would confess her feelings to Hiccup and ask him to take her. With that thought in mind, and warmth she had never known, her optimism lulled her into a deep sleep.

……

Three days later, Astrid emerged from her hut early in the morning. Her nightmare had woken her up earlier than most of the other non-farming Vikings. The sun wasn't quite up yet and the golden rays shooting over the clouds brought some of the optimism back to her mind. She felt calm again, despite the worry at not having seen Hiccup in six days. She hoped he and his leg were well.

She had indeed refused to kill the dragon, giving the right to Fishlegs. He, of course, killed his first dragon in front of an angry village. While mostly mild mannered, Fishlegs was fed by the crowd and really drug the murder out. She watched only briefly to save face with the group and had then left the arena. That was two days ago.

Since then, the new recruits had been given a couple days downtime to relax before joining some of the hunting parties before winter set in. While the others had used this time for fun, Astrid had used it for packing. She didn't figure she could take much on Toothless's back, so she packed a light bag. Astrid didn't have much to start with, so that wasn't a large problem.

Her pack was stored below her bed, where her parents wouldn't find it and start asking questions. That was the last thing she needed now. The rest of her time had been spent going to the clearing and keeping a weather eye out for Hiccup. Astrid was a great many days yet before giving up hope, but worry had started to rear its ugly head when Hiccup hadn't shown up that first day after he left.

Today, though, was a fine day. The sun was shining and few clouds were in sight. The temperature was mild and balmy. She decided to venture a little higher than the clearing today. There was a cliff that gave a beautiful view to the village of Berk and the coasts and forests surrounding it. It would let her see much more and see Hiccup coming.

The going wasn't very difficult for her. It was a trek her and the other kids had made many times in their lives. The grass was still very green for this time of year and the sound of the crashing waves below could be heard clearly in all its beauty. There was the sound of a snapping twig behind her and she quickly turned, her hopes soaring.

Nothing was in full view or otherwise. Whatever had made the noise wasn't Hiccup. _Come on, animals! Not today! _

A few hundred feet more and she reached the cliff. The summit of the mountain was still many hundreds of feet higher, but this still seemed mighty high. Below her lay Berk. In front, the statues in the water, the look out fires, and a panoramic view of the ocean. This would be a wonderful spot to spend the day. It was nearing noon and the sun felt great against her skin.

…..

Astrid woke up from a quick nap. By the looks of the sun, she couldn't have fallen asleep for more than an hour. She was confident that Hiccup had not arrived because he wasn't standing by her and because Berk didn't seem to be in complete chaos. She was fairly certain that if he simply road back into town it would cause an uproar.

She again smiled to herself at the thought of Hiccup when suddenly the sun seemed to flicker. Her eyes twitched ever so slightly at the quick change of light. The movements made her eyes look up at the sun almost without thinking. The burst of light on her pupils forced her eyes into a squint. Through this squint she thought she could make out a small dot on the surface of the sun. The dot seemed to be ablaze in the intensity of the light.

Slowly, hopes began rising within Astrid. Also slowly, the light from the sun began to fade. The speck was blotting out more and more of the sun. She could see a definite flowing up and down motion in the dot. All at once, her hopes sky rocketed again. Here he was! Hiccup was alive!

Astrid tried to keep her eyes from watering, but couldn't help it. As Toothless neared, she stood and wiped her eyes. She could make his form out now. His left foot was crudely bandaged and he appeared to be riding slightly low to Toothless. It was all she could do to stay in one spot; the apprehension was eating away at her.

Several minutes of anticipation later, Hiccup dismounted Toothless and stood favoring his right leg, facing Astrid. The skin around his eyes was red, as if sickly, and his bandages were spotted with dried blood. It appeared as if he hadn't been sleeping well the last few days. She ran over to him and embraced him.

"Hi" he uttered, without much tone, but caring nonetheless.

"Hi Hiccup. I'm so glad you're ok. I've been so worried."

His eyes lit up with her statement, and he managed a weak smile. Warmth came back to him.

"Astrid, I…"

"Hiccup, I love you." Astrid interrupted him.

Hiccup stood shocked, without anything to say. She looked him square in the eyes.

"I decided to tell you when you came back. I realized that I've fallen in love with you over a long time without knowing. You and I were so much alike and so much different than the others. You showed bravery in the face of terrible odds. You have a kind and loving spirit. And you were the first Viking to learn of the dragon's true nature. I know I'm strong willed and hard necked and I always need to take control… which I guess is what I'm doing now. So… I'll shut up and be quiet for a second."

The two stood facing each other. Hiccup's expression changed from sickly to joyous. Confidence seemed to have finally welled up within him.

"Astrid, I… I've loved you for a very long time."

She smiled back and pulled him close. Toothless looked the other direction.

They shared their first real kiss that wasn't under duress. The embrace lasted many seconds before the two separated and looked each other in the eyes again.

"I'm so glad, Astrid. You were the only real reason I had to come back to this place. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back. I've been trying to get over the pain in my leg. Today was the first day I thought I could possibly fly Toothless back. The pain is down to a dull numb and the motion is slightly better. I can't do anything too fancy, but I can fly him. I'm not how much better it can get though."

"What do you mean?" She looked worried again.

"I may need to talk to Gobber about a replacement. I'm not sure though."

"Oh Hiccup, I'm so sorry." Her eyes twinkling with tears. Hiccup just smiled back.

"It's ok. As long as I have something I can fly Toothless with. If it works out with this leg, great, if not, I'll make something that will work. But, Astrid, I had a question for you."

Her heart picked up pace, was this it? She looked at him, full of hope.

"What are you going to do with your life here now that this has all happened? Will you become a Viking and slay dragons?" He looked back, equally full of hope.

"Hiccup, I could never do that after seeing Toothless and the rest of the dragons. They asked me to fill your shoes and kill the dragon for the village but I declined. Fishlegs did it. I no longer have a life here. My parents only care about killing dragons and after seeing your father with the dragon in the pen, frankly, I'm afraid to be here anymore. Everyone knows something was going on between us."

"What did my father do?" Anger suddenly etched its way across his face.

"Once you left, he butchered the carcass of that dragon. He was really angry Hiccup. It took hours to clean up the mess he left. I've never seen someone like that." She gripped his arm tighter. "I'm scared for you if you stick around here to long."

"I don't plan to Astrid. That was the question I had for you. If you wanted… would you like to… to come… with Toothless and I? I have no idea where we are going to go. I know there are several more Viking settlements along this line of islands. I doubt any of them would take us with Toothless though. We can't go to their nesting grounds, there is that giant dragon ruling them all. I've heard stories of non-Viking settlements to the south. We could try there, or we can start our own settlement."

Astrid pulled Hiccup close and laid her head on his shoulder. She said, just above a whisper, "Of course I'll go with you Hiccup. I've had a bag packed since the day after you left. It's under my bed in my room. I'm ready to leave as soon as I get it."

"Astrid…"

The two hugged tightly, tears of joy falling from both parties. When they parted, Hiccup spoke next.

"Ok, it's a little after noon, judging by the sun. If you go back to town, grab your stuff and get back here, it will be almost nightfall. I would have Toothless take you down, but you know the danger there. It will be safer for all of us if Toothless and I hide and wait for sundown. Does that sound ok with you?"

"That sounds more than ok. I'll be back as quickly as possible."

She turned to leave, but Hiccup stopped her. "Before you go…"

The two shared another passionate kiss, their love for each other burning in their hearts. Neither had ever felt so alive. They parted.

"I love you, Astrid." He smiled.

"I love you, Hiccup. I'm so glad this all happened. It let me finally see my feelings for you" She smiled back.

"Me too, Astrid. Me too."

With that, she spun and sprinted off down the slope.

"Be safe, Astrid!" Hiccup hollered after her. When she was out of sight, he limped over to Toothless and mounted. A swift wing movement and they were off into the afternoon sky.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

He could see them talking to each other. And there was that damned dragon. The thing that had caused all this pain. He was worried that she'd seen him when he broke that twig, but apparently she hadn't. She seemed smarter than that to him, but he guessed not. He had followed her all the way up here. In truth, he had been following her each day she went to that clearing. He knew she was his ticket to Hiccup. They had, after all, shared a parting kiss before he had flown off. His gaze fixed on the boy. Anger seized his veins.

Stoic stayed back in the woods, out of sight. Having been an avid hunter his entire life, he was very good at remaining unseen, despite his size. His anger slowly ebbed. He still loved his son very much. This trespass of Viking way would be forgiven by the clan in time. Sure, Hiccup wouldn't be respected as a replacement leader should anything befall Stoic, but there was time enough to fix that problem.

He just had to find a way to get Hiccup away from that damned dragon. Hiccup wouldn't listen to reason. He didn't care about tradition, the Viking way, or the clan. His selfishness would have to be drug out of him, and that dragon had to die. But how to do it. In front of him, the boy and the girl kissed and the girl ran off into the woods. His plan hatched.

Stoic watched Hiccup mount the dragon and fly off. This was it, his ticket to his son. To the best he could figure, her speed and the look on Hiccup's face meant that she was excited.

_They must be planning on escaping Berk together. So why not leave now? Ah… she must be getting something. They must be planning on meeting later. Hmm… this will have to happen now. _

And he was off. For his size, Stoic could run quickly and with agility few would see as plausible from a man of his girth. He caught her scent and could hear her breaking limbs and smashing leaves through her sprint. She would be easier to track than any animal he had ever hunted.

Indeed, it wasn't long before he had her in his sights. Astrid was making her way through some particularly thick trees. Stoic made his way in front of her. She had no idea.

He jumped directly in front of her track.

Astrid came to a dead halt and nearly fell over.

"Hello, Astrid. I see you've been talking with Hiccup. I need you to come with me." He reached out, and grabbed her by the waist. She began to scream, but his grip quickly knocked much of the air from her lungs. "You're going to help me get my son back. After I kill that bastard dragon of his, I'll let you two have your fairy tale ending. You don't have to scream, I don't mean you any harm."

Her muscles stopped tensing and he released his grip on her. Stoic started walking toward the village, with her over his shoulder. Astrid had enough air to speak.

"Sir, you don't understand. Toothless isn't a danger to anyone."

"He named that thing? It sure as hell had teeth when I saw it. I don't care what it is, I'm going to kill it and make Hiccup one of us again."

Astrid began to cry and kick. Stoic again applied the pressure around her waist.

"Girl, I promise, you and Hiccup can be together. It's the dragon I'm after. You know what? I wasn't going to make him kill anything again. I know he won't do it regardless of what I want, so I decided to let him have that. I'll even let you off the hook, since you seem to have taken his loyalty to the animals. You are going to do this, whether or not you want to, so you might as well make it easy on yourself. That dragon is going to die, so just cooperate and everything will be much easier on you."

Astrid knew she wouldn't be able to talk him out of his plan. As tears continued to fall, she grew silent. Here was yet another impossible situation for Hiccup to get his way out of. She knew he would be brave yet again. This one, however, would blindside him. She had no way of warning him.

_Hiccup, I hope you can get all three of us out of this. I love you._

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

_I love you, Astrid. I'm on my way._

Hiccup flew high above the clouds. He and Toothless had left the summit just minutes prior. It was nearing sundown and he wanted to see Astrid again as soon as possible. To his left, the sunset was beautiful. Yellows, purples, oranges, and reds radiated from the sun in a dazzling display. For just a second, he was reminded of his recent dreams. He pushed through those thoughts, bolstered by the promise of a happy future with Astrid.

Hiccup and Toothless landed on the cliff. He must have gotten here a little early, Astrid had yet to arrive. Hiccup dismounted steadily and limped over to the edge. He looked out at the beautiful vista before him and was happy. He wanted to remember this place as it was before all of this. A happy place with a loving, if cold, father.

He felt better than he had that morning. The pain was mostly numb now, with his foot moving more smoothly and in time with Toothless. He bent down and rubbed his left knee a bit. It was a weird thing to put all your weight on one leg all day and then to stand on both. He looked down toward Berk. From this view, he could see mostly the entire village.

The village was nestled just feet from a several hundred foot drop to the ocean and jagged rocks. Down one cliff face, the Vikings had built walkways scaling the wall to where their pier was. This defensive setup had helped several times in attacks from other human invaders. From here, Hiccup could make out his house, Astrid's house, and in the middle of circle of houses, the fire pyre.

The huge flame was lit near mealtimes should groups of Vikings wish to congregate and have large meals. It was situated close to the cliff. Next to it was…

"What the hell…"

_Astrid…_

In the flickering fire light of the pyre, Hiccup could make out the tied up body of his love. She was tied around the torso and waist, her arms tied to her sides. From that rope, she was strung up over a make shift gallows over the cliff. It was clear she was not in danger of suffocation, her neck was not bound. Her mouth, however, was. Standing next to her was his father.

Anger surged through his body. This was adrenaline like he had never felt before. His blood ran white hot. Every muscle in his body seemed to tense and come under tight control of his mind. Any and all pain evaporated from his leg. Without thinking, he boarded Toothless and made a beeline from his father. Something had to give, right now.

By this time, Toothless had recognized what was going on. He felt it in his system too. Somehow, the electricity running through Hiccup seemed to invigorate him as well. He spotted the object of his human's affection and saw the danger she was in. He became reckless and screeched.

The screech of a Night Fury was very well known in Berk. Instinctively, Stoic looked up and Vikings from around the center of town looked up as well. The Black Death flew over the gallows and out into open air, turning to face Stoic. The Night Fury seemed to fly in that single spot. From it, a voice could be heard.

"Dad, you don't have to do this." Hiccup desperately yelled at the man that he had called father. He could see the meager shape of Astrid, wriggling in her confines.

"Give up your dragon and we will let her go. Refuse and she dies." With this, he held up a dagger to the rope. Hiccup's eyes widened and Toothless growled. Astrid was crying and her muted cries could be heard through her gag. She was shivering.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless, whispering, "Don't worry, boy. We'll all get out of this. Let's get a little closer. Maybe I can talk him down." Hiccup moved his dragon a little closer and could recognize the dark shapes of archers, lined across the cliff. All with arrows trained on the dragon.

Stoic turned to his men and said quietly, "Do not fire until the dragon is over land. I don't want Hiccup or Astrid hurt, you hear me?" The men grunted in response. It was clear the entire lot of them were terrified that the dragon they heard so many evil stories about was hovering just feet away. Those with arrows at the ready had shaky grips at best and sweaty hands at worst.

Hiccup was only feet from the edge of the cliff and Astrid now. His father was still standing beside her with the dagger to the rope. The archer's all had their arrows trained on the dragon. Hiccup was about to speak when the archer two away from Stoic lost control of his arrow. His shaky hands and sweaty palms just simply couldn't control the string of the bow.

The solitary arrow sang through the air. At the snap of the string, Toothless retaliated. His burst of fire instantly killed the offending archer. The combined heat and surprise of the blast knocked many of the other archers back. Stoic was thrown sidewise from the concussive force. His dagger blade sliced nearly through the rope keeping Astrid suspended in the air. Astrid threw Hiccup a glance and Hiccup returned it. In the next moment, several things happened.

The other archers that hadn't been knocked down let their arrows fly. The rope hanging Astrid snapped. Stoic managed to see the top of her head before it disappeared below the cliff. Hiccup, without thinking, dove from his saddle.

Time seemed to slow.

The beautiful sunset the juxtaposition for the drama unfolding at the cliff. In one heartbeat, Hiccup was falling with Astrid. He no longer had anything suspending him and he didn't care. He wasn't going to let her die alone. They were in it together now, till the end. The wind rustled through his hair. Her body had spun now, so that she was falling headfirst. It would be quick and painless for her.

Above them, Stoic scrambled away from the cliff, knowing the dragon's power. In that same heartbeat that Hiccup fell with Astrid, Toothless launched flames across the entire cliff. Many archers died instantly in the flame, others falling to the same fate set for Hiccup and Astrid. Others would have terrible burn scars for the rest of the lives.

As soon as his shot was fired, Toothless dove for his two humans. He could see the two about halfway down the cliff. Hiccup was very near Astrid now. He picked up speed. Arrows sizzled the air beside his ears and one bounced off the metal in his saddle.

Hiccup managed to reach Astrid. When she saw his face a mixture of emotions simultaneously crossed her face. Happiness that she wouldn't die alone and sadness that her love had to die with her. Hiccup grabbed her with one arm.

With his other, he grabbed Toothless's saddle as the dragon had caught up to them. With his adrenaline pumped muscles, Hiccup managed to swing his leg over the saddle and position Astrid between himself and Toothless's head. Astrid's body laid long ways across the saddle. The ropes binding her body would not allow her to sit up. Her feet lay to Hiccup's left and her head was cradled by Hiccup's right forearm. The two looked into each other's eyes, a sense of relief washing over them.

Toothless pulled out of his dive, only narrowly escaping a jagged rocky death. Happiness flooded all three. Hiccup hastily removed the gag in Astrid's mouth. The two smiled as Toothless was regaining height.

As Hiccup and Astrid gazed at each other and Toothless was doing his best to fly without a co-captain, the there felt a bump in their flight. It was like hitting a speed bump, only in reverse; more like a pothole. Something had hit them.

Hiccup gazed from Astrid's face toward her chest. Protruding from her left breasts was about a foot of wood. The end of the quarter inch stick was adorned with feathers from the seagulls in the bay. Red liquid was pooling quickly around the base of the stick. Not a second later, a second stick lodged its way into her abdomen. It hit dead center and her lower body went limp. It had severed her lower spine.

Astrid had a surprised look on her face and then the sadness was back. Hiccup's brain hadn't quite caught up to the action, but he moved his hand to the arrow through her chest anyway. Like a toddler who doesn't understand, he touched the arrow and looked at her face. He didn't know it, but tears were flowing freely from his eyes.

As the situation finally registered in his mind and he called Astrid's name, Toothless was belching fire at the remaining archers who had fired the arrows. They died painfully and unceremoniously. Their burning corpses fell into the sea.

Toothless flew now above the cliff, and Stoic saw the damage caused. His heart dropped and he found himself completely shocked. There were no more archers. Toothless made his way to the edge of the burning cliff and looked like he was going to land.

By this time, a small group of villagers had gathered at the ruckus to see if the archers needed any help. They had all seen the broken body of the young girl on the dragons back. They knew their archers had caused this. The Night Fury, their greatest fear landed on the edge of the cliff.

Hiccup had Astrid's body in his arms. The two were still looking at each other and Astrid was quietly gasping and working for each breath she took. Hiccup dismounted from Toothless and stood at the edge of the cliff. Her tears had stopped, he was weeping. The crowd stepped back, allowing Hiccup room to set her on the ground. Stoic stood feet away, at a complete loss.

To Hiccup and Astrid, the rest of the world seemed to melt away. It was only the two of them and infinity. They held each other's gaze and seemed to know and comfort each other. Their promises of the future would not come to fruition. Her life was ending and he would have to deal with that. She spoke.

"I'm… I'm sorry… Hiccup."

He just looked back at her, tears falling. His speech was broken between sobs.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Astrid… Did you know you were the reason I wanted to be a strong Viking? You were my cause for living for a long long time… You are why I ignored all those taunts from the others and why I can be brave... It was always you, Astrid."

He brushed some of her hair out of her face. She managed a smile.

"Hiccup, I… I love you." A pained expression shot across her face. He bent down to embrace her neck, being careful not to move the arrows and cause her pain. His mouth was right next to her ear. He said in a whisper, so intimate that only these two beings in all of history could share it:

"I love you."

He pulled his head back to see her face. This moment froze into his memory like no other ever would. She looked him in the eye, smiled, and took her last breath. He felt the life leave her body.

He sat there a few seconds more before shifting his weight and gently laying her head on the ground. Those beautiful eyes he had fallen in love with were still gazing up at him. His hand moved to her forehead and closed them.

Hiccup sat there, on his knees with his arms limp and staring at the ground. No one around made a move or a sound. His crying was quiet now. The tears he shed for her now and the ones he would shed for her later were only his to know. He didn't want to share this sorrow with a single other human being. How dare those selfish bastards take part in this sorrow? No, he kept the crying to himself.

He stood to his feet, head still point down, and took one step toward his father. His head rose to look at Stoic with a hatred so fierce that it took Stoic aback, despite it all. His eyes seemed to be alight with fire. The tears seeming to steam away from his face as soon as they had been released.

Hiccup gave Stoic a look that told him everything he needed to know. Hiccup was no longer his son. He was no longer a citizen of Berk. There would be no forgiveness now. The line had been crossed.

Hiccup turned and walked to Toothless. With one glance back at Astrid's body, he mounted Toothless and kicked his sides. Toothless took off into the night.

The crowd began slowly approaching Astrid and Stoic now. Stoic simply had to turn around and walk up the slope to his house. He didn't speak another word to anyone that night. Instead, he went to his house and wept for the first time since his wife had died.

**A/N – Please review! Sorry this one took longer than a week. I really liked this chapter. It was really hard to write. I kept finding myself trying to talk myself out of the Astrid/arrow thing. Had to, though. Man, I love the soundtrack to HTTYD. I've been listening to it on repeat pretty much since the movie came out. My favorite track is Test Drive. I tear up every single time. Man, I love that movie! I've seen it 4 times and am going back again this week. (I can't believe its still in theaters! That's awesome!) Reviews keep me going, please review! If you'd like to chat on AIM, I'm fett8802.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to my beta reader, meggie6!**

**If Only You'd Listened**

**Chapter 3**

_How could this happen?_

Stoic sat alone in his hut at the top of the village hill. Two days had passed since the death of everything he had cared about. His life had always felt somewhat empty when he wasn't killing dragons or leading a hunting group, but now it felt somehow… different. He hadn't meant for the girl to die.

His fists clenched tighter. Anger seared.

_It was all that damned dragon. Those loathsome beasts have robbed this village of so much. Now they take my son from me and his love from him. I will kill that dragon. _

It had been like this since the night Astrid had died. Stoic didn't shed his defensive wall very often and certainly never to anyone else. However, the event on the cliff had knocked a chink into his armor. This small hole in his armor gnawed at him like nothing had before. One moment, he was near tears; admitting to himself that it was he that was the cause of Astrid's death. The next, his Viking pride was back; swearing vengeance and knowing the dragon killed the girl.

It wasn't that he actually believed the dragon was at fault, but he was very good at denial. Hell, you had to be when you sent your armies into the icy cold knowing many would perish. It was a trick he had subconsciously learned over his long tenure as Chief. Unfortunately for Stoic, his Viking temper always won out; the hole in his armor wasn't large enough. He would always quiet that urge to cry, to mourn his son, to remember what they had had – what he had let slip away.

It's a funny thing that you never realize what you have until you've lost it. Or rather, until you've thrown it away. He could very easily have let Hiccup explain things, to have listened to his son's pleas. No, that would have been against traditions; and the villagers were always watching. He had to maintain respect or anarchy would ensue. And let's face it; rebelling Vikings are not something one wants to wake up to.

He had hardly been seen outside his hut in those two days. He felt ashamed and as if everyone in the village thought less of him now, even though no one would say anything. His time alone was up, Stoic was to lead the funeral. It was uncommon for the average Viking to receive a ceremony. Too many died in dragon attacks for there to be time for them all. Usually, a funeral pyre was erected in the middle of the village and the bodies were sailed out to sea. That was reserved for death in battle. For those few that managed to die simply of old age, a burial was more traditional.

Astrid's parents had been devastated. Stoic, however, carried enough clout and respect that her parents were still loyal to him, even through this pain. Stoic had personally spoken with her father and given his condolences. He told of his plan to get his son back from the dragon and how he empathized with their pain; he had lost his son too. They requested a burial and a funeral service for their daughter and Stoic, of course, agreed.

It was that funeral he was meant to lead today. Astrid's parents didn't have a burial plot picked out and so Stoic suggested the high cliff overlooking the village where she and Hiccup had shared their kiss. It felt like it was the best he could do to honor both Astrid and his son's memories.

Stoic, wiping away a tear, stood up from his chair and walked to his front door. He looked back at the table where he had been sitting. Resting on the table was the helmet he had given his son not four days before. Hiccup had left it in the dragon fighting ring when he'd flown off. Now it was here as a constant reminder of Stoic's pain; now not only of his dead wife, but for the son he had lost.

…..

It was mid afternoon in Berk. The funeral would be held at sunset, as was customary, but the procession would be leaving the village now. It was a good couple hour trek up the hillside to the cliff. About thirty people had gathered near the pyre in the middle of the village. Astrid's parents, Gobber, the teenagers that had been in training with her, and several family friends were in attendance. All in all a fairly large procession for a Viking. As Stoic arrived, he received several blank glances.

Astrid's father and Stoic would be carrying Astrid up the hill. Her body lay across a makeshift cloth hammock strung between two poles. She was wrapped tightly in burlap with several ornamental flowers and decorations. Everyone carried a lit torch, despite the daylight. Astrid would be carried head first toward the gravesite, a sign of her moving on to the next world. That end of the hammock would be carried by her father, representing his guidance in her life. Stoic would carry the opposite end of the hammock, representing the rock on which the village, and Astrid, stood.

The party set out under the unusually warm sun. Stoic kept a weather eye out for shadows dotting the sky. He fully expected Hiccup to at least be hidden somewhere in attendance at her funeral. He was ashamed to admit to himself that he considered this funeral another chance at getting Hiccup back and killing that dragon. If only the opportunity presented itself.

It did not present itself. The hours passed and the party arrived at the cliff. The climb had been made almost entirely silent. The silence wasn't out of respect, so much as fear of Stoic. The few funerals there were in Berk tended to be happier occasions. Celebrations of a long life well lived, stories of the "golden days," and plenty of alcohol to sooth the grieving soul were in abundance at most funerals. Astrid's was not a celebration.

Her life had not been long; for her there would be no golden days. The somber and very sober event was only punctuated by Stoic's presence. Those in attendance felt awkward around him. He seemed a changed man. They had seen the lengths he was willing to go to achieve his plans and they were afraid for it. There had always been respect for their leader, but the seat of that respect had changed from admiration to fear.

Stoic and the girl's father lay her body across the ground a few feet from where the grave would be. The scenery here was beautiful, the perfect place for a headstone to be greeted daily by the rising sun. She was to be buried a few feet from the edge of the cliff. Stoic didn't know it now, but her grave looking over the village would often serve as a reminder of his actions. Any time he would look up at the rising sun he would be greeted by this outcropping of rock.

Stoic took the responsibility of digging while the ceremony commenced. It was hard going for him. The soil only went a few inches deep until he ran into rock. It wasn't so solid that he couldn't work it out with his hands, but the labor was hard. He thought this was fitting.

While he dug, Astrid's parents stood around their daughter and told stories of fond memories; her first step; her first animal kill; her ability in the dragon training ring. They didn't mention her first love, though they knew of it.

They had found the parcel tucked under her bed that had been packed with supplies and figured out what she had been planning to do. Stoic came to them the night she died and explained everything to them. They blamed Hiccup just as much as they did Stoic. Hiccup had been planning on taking their daughter from them after all. All of this introspection caused them to realize that Astrid had no real reason to stay with them. They had never been a close family. It was this that drove their request for a buried. They wanted to do at least one last thing for their daughter.

It was this untold story that fueled much of her parent's tears at the ceremony. The others gathered near her body could only assume it was a parent's love for their child causing the pain.

After they had finished, others were given a chance to speak. Fishlegs did his best to elaborate on some glorious battles in the dragon training ring. Some of the others tried their best to come up with stories about Astrid, but couldn't. She had simply been too detached from the village. Always training, always being better than everyone at everything. Her parents realized the only person she had only really connected to was Hiccup.

The two had been friends when they were younger, latching on to each other in their mutual aloneness. It wasn't until later that he became shy and she became even more of a lone wolf. In the last few days of her life, according to Stoic, Hiccup had been able to give her something they never had; love. Her parents now could appreciate Hiccup and the small measure of good he had given their daughter.

Their sadness peaked as Stoic was removing the last stone from the fresh hole. He stepped out of the plot and walked over to Astrid's parents. The group had become quiet in reflection. Stoic cleared his throat and spoke up.

"It is unfortunate we must burry one so young as she. Astrid showed every sign of becoming a wonderful Viking. She was a girl after my own heart; steadfast in her beliefs, strong of will, and strong of courage. She died a brave death in service to her people."

He looked down to the ground when he spoke the last sentence. That hole in his emotional armor wouldn't allow him to say that while looking her parents in the eye. He knew it was a boldfaced lie. But he had to continue; he looked back up. Every eye was on him.

"Let us now put this brave soul to rest and know that she has been returned to Odin."

Stoic and the rest of the group bowed their heads and gave a moment of silence. When it was complete, Astrid's father and Stoic gently lifted her body and placed it in the grave. At this, the ceremony was over and the group disbanded. It wasn't considered polite in Berk to linger after a funeral. In fact, most people would separate from their groups and walk home alone, in reverence to the dead.

It was like that now. Only Stoic and Gobber remained to fill the hole and mount the headstone that had been prepared. Astrid's parents walked together into the woods, with one last glance back at their daughter's final resting place. Once they continued on, they made sure to walk away from the others. They found a stump and sat, wanting to mourn privately. They heard some twigs breaking and looked to see who had interrupted their privacy. When no one appeared, they listened closely to the woods only to hear a low sorrowful sound like a lone dog whimpering.

After a few seconds, a hundred feet away, a solitary figure walked into view. He was visibly shaken. His face was red, his hair unkempt, and his walk slow and broken. It was Hiccup. They could just make out the tears streaming down his face. His dragon was nowhere in sight, but in the distance the low whining continued.

Hiccup didn't approach; his eyes did all the talking that they needed. Several moments passed as the three looked at each other from across the void of forest. Hiccup was favoring his right leg, in obvious pain. Astrid's father gave him a single, slow nod of approval. Nodding back, Hiccup managed the briefest smile. With that, he turned and hobbled back into the forest.

Soon after, the low whimpering seemed to fade into the distance. Astrid's parents sat for a while longer before the cold pushed them home.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Weeks had passed since Astrid's funeral. Most of the village had forgotten all about the event in the feverish preparation for winter. All signs pointed toward it being especially hard this year. Stoic's armor had grown back. He was no longer second guessing himself, he was back in control. Only a select few villagers still viewed him with fear in their hearts.

The most affected, besides Astrid's family and Stoic, was Gobber. He viewed Hiccup as a son just as much as Stoic did, probably more. He had never told him so, but he loved Hiccup as the son he never had. Also more so than Stoic, he cared about Hiccup's happiness. While he certainly didn't understand the bond that Hiccup held with the dragons, there was little evidence to refute it.

He had watched the boy single handedly down the worst that the dragon world had to offer; and he did it all without swinging an ax. It was obvious now that it was because Hiccup could befriend these creatures. That had been a lot to think about on top of Astrid's death and Hiccup's disappearance. More than anything, he just wanted to tell Hiccup that at least one person in Berk valued him.

Gobber hobbled around his shop. The dragons hadn't attacked in a few days and he was caught up on repairs. He was going to have to find a new apprentice sooner or later, but that was far from his mind now. It was well past dark and well past closing time. He lived in an adjoining room to the shop and made his way in that direction.

His front door had only been shut a few seconds when someone started knocking on it. _Stoic again. You know, I'm happy to listen to anyone's problems. But if you're simply going to refuse any advice on the issue, then stop talking to me about it! _He approached the door and pulled it open, readying a quip.

It wasn't Stoic.

To his great surprise, a very sickly looking Hiccup fell into his house. Hiccup had barely been able to keep himself upright against the door post. It took a second for Gobber to fully realize the situation. Hiccup looked terrible. His breathing was fast paced and erratic. Gobber bent down and lifted the thin teenager into his arms, walking quickly toward his bed. He laid Hiccup down and stood over him, his heart racing with worry.

Hiccup's eyes were still mostly closed, but Gobber could tell that he was still conscious. There was a very strong smell of iron in the room. He looked down toward the source of the smell. Hiccup's left leg was covered in blood soaked bandages. Some of the blood looked dark red and weeks old, some looked brand new. Hiccup's right foot writhed in pain, while his left simply hung limp. It reminded Gobber of one of the legs on the jousting dummies.

Gobber used his good hand to start moving some bandages away from the upper shin, when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Hiccup's bloodshot eyes were wide beneath his sweat soaked brow. His looked frightened Gobber. Hiccup's words came through clenched teeth.

"Gobber, I need help." The hand that held Gobber was shaking with pain.

"I can see that, boy."

"It has to come off. I've been fighting this for weeks, but I can hardly stay conscious anymore. I stopped being able to move it this afternoon. Toothless had a real hard time getting me here. The pain is unbearable." Hiccup swayed, nearly losing consciousness. Gobber had no idea who Toothless was, but assumed it was that dragon. His eyes opened and he continued, "You're the only one I trust Gobber. Please, do not tell Stoic that I'm here."

"Of course, Hiccup. Here, let me get you something."

Gobber hobbled quickly to his store room. When he returned, he had a large flask of ale. "Drink this." Hiccup took the flask in his shaky hands and tipped it to his mouth. The liquid stung his throat adding warmth to his body. He hadn't felt warm in several weeks. The stinging in his throat also ebbed the pain in his shin a little. While he was drinking greedily, Gobber was removing bandages.

_Just as I feared. It's gangrenous. I'll have to take off much more than just the wounded ankle. _He looked to his right to see ale pouring onto the floor. Hiccup was out cold. He walked over to pick up the jar. He grabbed a cloth from a nearby rack and dumped a little ale on it. It wasn't water, but it'd do. He laid the damp cloth on his young patients head.

This was going to be a challenge. He was used to added limbs, not removing them. He finished removing the makeshift bandages and simply beheld the destruction. He could see the original wound. The skin was bare along most of the shin; muscle showed through. The ankle bone had been broken and mended improperly. It was easy to see why Hiccup had lost the ability to move it.

Some of the bone poked out at odd angles and bloody puss was oozing out of several open sores. The skin on the foot was almost completely black, as if charred. It smelt terrible. Gobber could track the progression of the gangrene up his shin. The blackness started looking more like skin around the ankle and disappeared completely near his knee. It was there he would have to cut. He had to be extremely careful to avoid causing any further complications. Gangrene was a nasty somebitch.

_Odin help me._

...

Hiccup's eyes slowly opened. He stared at the ceiling, remembering where he was. His leg was still on fire, but the rest of his body felt much better. His eyes were less bloodshot and his cold sweat was gone. Sunlight was coming in through the tattered cloth over the windows. He looked toward the floor and saw Gobber laying there. Dried blood covered the floor. He lifted the blankets off his foot, which caused the pain to return to his left toes as the cloth drug across the tattered flesh.

When the blanket was gone he saw, to his surprise, a bandaged stump just below his knee. Confusion flooded his mind as the pain and now shock flooded his system. His hand flew to the empty space where he could feel his leg. It was the oddest sensation in his life. His brain told him both that his leg was there and that his hand was there. He couldn't figure it out.

"It's residual feeling." Hiccup spun to face the voice that was coming from the floor. "Your brain hasn't gotten use to the fact that it's gone yet. I had it in both my hand and leg when they were eaten. It will go away in time. It's a damn weird feeling ain't it?"

Hiccup only managed a nod. Gobber got to his feet and walked over to the boy, feeling his forehead.

"Good, your fever has broken. You were quite near death when you showed up, Hiccup." Hiccup's face turned to worry.

"What of Stoic, Gobber?" His muscles tensed at his father's name and hatred seared. His mind hadn't been this clear in several weeks; but the memories came flooding back. _I miss her. _

"You've only been out for a day. No one comes around her except me, so no worries there. I haven't talked to your father at…"

"He is NOT my father." Hiccup almost screamed. Gobber took a step back. He understood the boy's pain, but it hurt him to see Stoic and his son against each other. A couple silent seconds passed before he continued.

"I haven't spoken to Stoic since you arrived. If it is still what you want, I won't tell him you came. As far as I'm concerned, you've broken no laws and are no fugitive. He sees it that way too. He just wants you back."

"If I come back, he'll have to kill Toothless. He won't listen to me at all; he never has." Hiccup's face was red with anger now. Tears were welling inside his eyes. Gobber noticed. He hobbled closer and with his good arm hugged the boy.

"I'm so sorry about Astrid, Hiccup. Stoic told me that he saw the two of you preparing to leave together. She was a wonderful young woman. To see what you saw with her in your arms… it must have been hell. I completely understand your feelings toward Stoic. But please, Hiccup, please don't let it sour you." Fresh tears and a couple soft sobs issued from the boy.

"Gobber. He wouldn't listen to me. Not once. And now, he's gone and killed Astrid. We were in love, Gobber. She flew on Toothless and understood what dragons really are. Her entire mindset changed with that one flight, Gobber. Can't you see the power in that?" The tears continued to fall; all pain in his leg forgotten.

Gobber was clueless for words. He decided to leave the subject alone.

"If it's ok with you, please stay here for a couple of days while I work on a leg for you. I won't mention you to a soul, I promise."

Hiccup nodded in response and his hands went back to his missing leg. The physical hole Gobber had just created was no match for the emotional hole his father had left. _His father…_

"Gobber…" Hiccup's head rose back up to the older Viking, who turned and looked back.

"You have always been more of a father to me than he ever was. You've been there when I needed you. You trained me in smithing and fighting. You were even here to chop my leg off… thank you."

Gobber nodded and turned, heading to the hearth to start on a mechanical leg. Hiccup didn't see, but Gobber smiled and water was pooling in his eyes.

…..

Three days passed while Hiccup stayed at Gobber's. Through these days, Gobber worked on a contraption for Hiccup when he could, between orders. Hiccup stayed in bed for the most part, recovering from his month of fevered sickness. The residual pain was gone now; only a dull pain in his stump remained. He had tried to hobble out of bed a few times, to no avail. He worried about Toothless, but knew he'd be fine.

Hiccup had left Toothless in their old clearing, hoping no one had found it since they had been there. As long as no one wandered too far in that direction, he should be fine. There had been no loud commotion outside to signal a caught dragon, so Hiccup let his fears subside.

It was mid afternoon and Hiccup was itching to get back to Toothless and away from this retched island. He had no love for this place. The sun shone brightly from the windows and he longed to be flying through the skies once again. He knew it wouldn't be too much longer.

He had spoken to Gobber at length over the past few days. First, it was to give him a design for his new foot. Hiccup knew it had to hitch properly into the harness he had already built for Toothless if there was to be any hope of accurate flight. The designs they came up with seemed like they would do the trick.

Hiccup had also come up with another design. He didn't tell Gobber what it was for, but it looked like a long thin metal stick. At one end was a depression with a hole about the size of a string. It looked like this end would be held in a hand. The other end had three small spikes on a spring loaded trigger. Gobber couldn't imagine what it was for, but agreed to build it anyway.

Their conversations ranged all over the place, from Hiccup describing the flight with Astrid, their budding relationship, and the dragon. Gobber wasn't quite sure he believed all dragons weren't bad; that maybe Hiccup had just happened to find a good one. But then, there was no denying what Hiccup could do in the dragon ring. This conversation saw Hiccup trying desperately to hold on and not break down. Gobber could sense the pain in his voice, in his very movement and breath.

Their discussions would inevitably turn to Stoic. It was at this point that Hiccup always ended them. Gobber had managed to get out that Stoic wasn't trying to kill Astrid and that he genuinely felt awful about it. That it was just his Viking pride getting the better of him. It didn't matter to Hiccup why Astrid was dead, just that she was. Why couldn't anyone else see that? He refused to listen to Gobber on issues pertaining to his father.

Hiccup did, however, agree to talk to Stoic one more time. In fact, Hiccup had planned on this all along. There had to be one last discussion with the man before he killed him. He, of course, didn't mention that part to Gobber. He would give his leg a couple of weeks to heal up and get use to the new foot before returning and killing Stoic. He also had to see if the metal rod Gobber was building for him would work or not. After some trial and error, he figured it would.

The afternoon sun was slowly fading away in the distance. Dusk was quickly approaching. Hiccup knew Gobber would be back soon, hopefully with a completed leg and rod.

A knock came at the door and Hiccup was anxious to see the leg. Another knock. Why wouldn't Gobber just come in? After one more knock, the door slowly creaked open. A voice said, barely above a whisper.

"Hiccup…? Hiccup are you in here?" It was a female voice. Hiccup was surprised and frightened. The woman opened the door wide enough to come in. Tears formed in his eyes when he saw who it was. Astrid's mother walked over to him and wrapped him in a big hug. Hiccup couldn't find any words to say; which was no problem because she spoke right up.

"My husband and I have talked at length about you and Astrid. To be honest, when Stoic first told us about the two of you, we hated you. We thought you were the reason she was dead. Since then, we have come to realize that it was Stoic's fault for her death. But more than that, it was our fault for letting her down. We were never a very close family and we regret that most of all. It was good to know she felt the love of another before she died, and for that, I thank you."

She hugged him again. He was still processing everything she had said. He remembered when he and Astrid were much younger and would play together. Hiccup had liked her mom very much then. She had seemed kind to the children. After a tight embrace, she released him and sat back to face him. She continued.

"We found the bag that Astrid had packed when she was going to leave with you. There wasn't a lot in there besides basic needs, but we did find this. We thought you would like to have it." She held out a necklace. It wasn't very feminine and quite honestly, it was rather ugly.

"When she was younger, Astrid made this. She felt like all of the other kids thought she was too boyish. After all, she preferred fighting and training to playing with dolls. One day, she decided to make herself a necklace; to be more girly. Years later, it represented her girl side, her innocent side. She valued this very highly because of that. And now, we wanted you to have it; to keep her with you always. You were one of the few people to see her softer side."

Hiccup accepted the necklace, holding it gingerly and looking it over. It was made of tattered bits of string, some rocks Astrid had probably found in the cove, and three small pieces of panted glass. To most, it would have appeared amateur and gaudy. To him, it was beautiful. He slipped it over his head and around his neck.

"Thank you so much. I will treasure this." He looked at the woman and hugged her. Quickly, he snapped back.

"Does Stoic know…"

"Of course not, boy. We no longer have any love for Stoic. He showed the village his true colors the day Astrid died. Your secret is safe with us. Truth be told, we may be leaving the village soon. There are many other villages out there; many of which aren't attacked day in and day out by dragons. There is a small group of us that will most likely be leaving before next winter." Hiccup nodded in recognition.

The two spoke softly for the next few minutes when Astrid's mother got up to leave. She thanked him once again for giving her daughter love, then departed. Hiccup was left to himself for what little was left of the afternoon. He absent mindedly rubbed his stump while his other hand held Astrid's necklace. Everything about it reminded him of her. He could vaguely remember when she made it. She had proudly worn it for days forcing the boys to see it and punching them when they would snicker. This probably had the reverse effect than she wanted, but that's who she was.

Another knock came at the door and Gobber walked in. He had a sack thrown over his should and was holding what looked like a broken fishing pole in the other.

"Hey there, Hiccup. Got some stuff for you!"

Gobber sat the bag down at the foot of his bed and pulled out a strange metal contraption about a foot and a half in length. One end had a flat piece about nine inches long that was at a right angle to the rest of the makeshift leg. A large spring and some gears made up what would be Hiccup's new shin and the top was rounded off to match his stump. Several straps hung from various places.

Hiccup looked at the design of the ankle had smile in approval. This should fit Toothless's harness like a glove. If it didn't, it would only take some slight modification to see that it did. Gobber smiled seeing Hiccup slightly happy for the first time in weeks.

"Let's get it on your leg and see how it works."

Hiccup nodded in approval and shifted his weight to the edge of the bed. They would have to leave the bandages on for now, but the leg would still be functional. Gobber walked over and set the foot end of the leg against the ground and Hiccup gently placed his stump into the cup on top. The bandages made it a bit awkward but his leg settled into a spot nonetheless.

Gobber handed Hiccup some of the leather straps and explained how each strap was suppose to fit around his body. It was quite an intricate setup but Hiccup was glad for it. It would be put through a lot when flying. Once the straps had been hitched and he felt connected to the apparatus, Gobber helped stand him up.

Hiccup put most of his weight on Gobber at first, but slowly began shifting to his good leg. The pain in his stump escalated as weight was applied. What began as a dull throb quickly electrified his entire body. Determined to continue, Hiccup pushed through the pain and evened his weight out. His body weight was now applied normally, as if he were standing. His still had a hand on Gobber's shoulder for balance, but his legs were supporting him.

"How does it feel, Hiccup?"

"It hurts like a son of a half troll."

Gobber gave a hearty laugh that nearly threw Hiccup off balance.

"Do you think you can manage?"

Hiccup regained his stance and replied, "I think I'll manage."

The two spent the rest of the evening chatting about life and avoiding mention of Stoic or Astrid. Hiccup tried to explain the relationship he had with Toothless, but Gobber didn't understand. He had too many years of hatred buried within; but he listened anyway. Once, Gobber asked what the metal rod was for and Hiccup ducked the question changing subjects to something else. It certainly was suspect, but it couldn't be anything to terrible, right? After all, it was just a metal stick. Right?

Several more days passed as Hiccup continued to hide and heal at Gobber's. On two occasions, Stoic had stopped by to talk to Gobber and Hiccup had nearly been found out. He was narrowly able to hide and Gobber was able to get Stoic out of the hut to talk. Hiccup missed Toothless terribly. It had been nearly two weeks since his dragon had managed to fly him, feverish and dying, to Berk. He hoped Toothless would return to the hidden cove they had met at.

Gobber spent the evenings with Hiccup helping him learn to use his new leg. His stump wouldn't be fully healed over for many more weeks; but Hiccup could at least safely walk with his bandages on. It hurt like hell, but he managed. His confidence and resolve had been sharpened since his time away from Berk.

Every time Hiccup thought about Stoic, his resolve seemed to sharpen further. A hatred he had never known seethed in his soul. It was this hatred that allowed him to push through the pain and walk anyway. Gobber warned him that such hatred would serve only to punish his heart and mind and do nothing about Stoic. _That, _Hiccup thought, _is where you are wrong, Gobber._

Two weeks and three days after arriving at Gobber's, Hiccup began his trek toward where he hoped Toothless would be. He left well past midnight after Gobber had gone to bed. He loved the man, but he didn't want him trying to talk him out of going. He would return to confront Stoic when his leg was fully healed, but for now, he must retreat.

His leg stung after every step he took. Gobber had fashioned him a cane out of a lightweight wood to use until he got the hang of the new leg. He leaned heavily on it when his left foot had to bare his weight. Across his back was slung the metal rob.

Hiccup had finished the rod and shown it to Gobber, who still couldn't figure out what it was for. One end was fashioned after his hand and fit in his right fist nicely. At the top of the metal shaft near his thumb was a small rounded rock that, when pushed, applied pressure to a hidden spring. This spring moved some tiny parts that in turn pulled at a string that ran the length of the rod. At the other end was a large claw that had been whittled to a sharp point. When the rock button was pressed and the string was pulled, this claw came forward several inches. Gobber couldn't for the life of him see any purpose to the contraption, but when it worked Hiccup smiled a knowing and almost insidious smile.

The thought occurred to him now on his trek to the cove. He smiled once again and became excited for when he could put it to use.

His journey took several hours, but these hours were well spent on practicing with his new leg. While the pain was still there, he found that his other leg was getting used to compensating the weight of the metal shin. He thought optimistically about it for the first time since he knew it would have to be removed.

Entering the cove, Hiccup could see a large dark blob hanging from a tree across the small lake. Hiccup smiled. Toothless was fast asleep, but his keen dragon senses picked up Hiccup's footsteps just as he entered the clearing. His eyes sprung open and started directly at Hiccup. A second's hesitation later, he was sprinting full on toward Hiccup. The boy simply raised his hand and the dragon came to a halt just inches from his hand. The two embraced and Hiccup climbed on the dragon's back.

Testing it out for the first time, Hiccup nervously slid his mechanical foot into the stirrup he had made Toothless. The fit wasn't perfect but the design should work. It would require slight modification but overall, Hiccup was happy with how it felt. As they flew away from Berk, Hiccup enjoyed the new feeling his foot brought.

He now felt literally connected to Toothless in a very organic way. Now, as they flew, he was truly a part of the dragon and the two were an incredible team. Hiccup tried some of his more advanced routines, but the pain was too much for him. He settled on only making the slight adjustments needed to stay airborne and reach their destination. He thought once more about the rod across his back.

_I'll install it and try it out tomorrow. This should be totally awesome. I'll show Stoic. He should have listened to me. I'll make him regret everything he ever did to me. That bastard. _

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Two months had passed since Hiccup left his hut. Gobber looked out over the cove from Astrid's grave. He left a small bouquet there for himself and for Hiccup. Astrid's parents had left the previous week along with a small group of others seeking to leave Stoic's rule. Gobber wiped a tear from his eye. If he hadn't been one of Stoic's best friends, he might have had half a mind to leave with them. Stoic had become increasingly strict and tight on supplies. The Vikings were working even harder than they used to. Gobber hadn't seen Stoic so much as smile in months.

He looked out at the beautiful sunset view and mused to himself of the events of the previous three months. It had been a trying time for him personally, keeping Hiccup's presence from Stoic. Once Hiccup had left and Gobber told Stoic he had been there, Stoic had ripped his mechanical arm literally from its socket. The repair took a long time, without a capable apprentice to aid him. Another tear escaped from his eyes and he again turned toward the sun. His thoughts then drifted to…

A fiendishly bright light momentarily blinded him.

He raised his arm to shield his eyes when he was hit by a wall of rushing air. It felt like hurricane had come and suddenly gone. When he lowered his arms the sky had been scorched black. Over the horizon, he could just make out a gigantic fireball. It looked like the mushrooms he enjoyed eating so much. The setting sun was blocked out by a huge plume of what looked like smoke.

Across the village below, many Vikings looked up at the sky to see the rising blackness. Fear swept the village and it was taken as the worst kind of omen. It was as if Odin himself had destroyed some unfortunate island off in the distance. The blackness would spread and spend at least a week blotting out the sun in the village of Berk. More Vikings would leave fearing that Stoic had something to do with the ominous clouds.

It was in this tumultuous time that Hiccup came back to Berk.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The smoke had mostly vanished now. Only a thin gray layer was left in the sky. The sun had shown through for the first time in a week. Stoic was heading toward his hut after a long day of hunting with his men. He was exhausted; this smoke had stolen some of the breathable air. Thank Odin it was lifting. There wasn't much daylight left now and what little there was appeared much darker through the haze of smoke.

As he approached his home, Stoic noticed that the front door hung open. When he was about fifteen feet from the door, half of a figure stepped out. It was Hiccup. Anger and sadness clutched Stoic's heart and a single angry tear departed his eye as his son stepped fully from the door; revealing his mechanical leg.

"This leg, father, is because you wouldn't listen to me." An angry fire bellowed behind Hiccup's eyes. Stoic could almost feel heat radiating off of him. The sadness at his son's leg finally tore a whole large enough in his armor that his fatherhood won over his pride. He would apologize and beg his son for forgiveness. Stoic started to respond, but was interrupted.

"Astrid is dead, father, because you wouldn't listen." Hiccup yelled at Stoic. He began to take small, deliberate steps toward his father.

"The only person in this life that I cared about is dead because of you!" Hiccup's hand reached for a dagger in his waist band. He brandished it toward his father.

"I hate you with every inch of my being!" He started running toward his father now, knife at the ready. Stoic took a defensive position. To his surprise, Hiccup stopped just feet in front of him, knife still held in attack. Tears fell from his son's eyes as Hiccup threw the blade into the ground. It stuck into the mud, hilt toward the sky. Stoic was still too stunned to speak. His son put two fingers to his lips and whistled short and sharp.

"I told you in the dragon ring, Stoic. I am not one of you. I will not kill you with a Viking weapon."

The sun disappeared momentarily and out of the sky came Toothless. Hiccup quickly mounted and drifted backward and upward until he was about twenty feet off the ground. Stoic was readying his blade now, as archers from other parts of the village were running toward Stoic's hut.

Hiccup shouted over the roar of the wing flaps.

"I will kill you with a dragon."

Hiccup's right hand clutched the end of the metal rod that Gobber had fashioned. He had attached it to Toothless's saddle. When the button was pushed, the claw would prod Toothless just ahead of his back right leg. This spot, Hiccup had discovered, forced a dragon to blast fire from its mouth. It acted like a trigger to shoot fire at the rider's will.

Hiccup aimed Toothless at his father and with his thumb, pressed the button. The claw jabbed Toothless and the dragon's body was forced to unleash a torrent of flame. Stoic had spent enough time in his life dodging fire blasts that he easily dodged this attack. The ball of fire soared past Stoic and slammed straight into his hut. The hut exploded with enough force to throw Stoic ten feet away from the house. The blueish afterglow of Toothless's flames singed the area.

Stoic stood to his feet just quickly enough to avoid another blast the explosion of which threw him another twenty or so feet through the air. He landed on his right arm and felt it fracture. It was the first broken bone he had had in a long time. By now the archers had descended on the area and were quickly firing arrows toward the boy and his dragon.

He managed to look up just in time to see Hiccup flying out of the range of the archers. He watched as Hiccup began killing the archers. Some fled into nearby huts only to be destroyed by an explosion of heat. When the archers were either dead or fleeing, Hiccup turned his attention back to Stoic. He was getting to his feet far below Hiccup and the boy knew it would be an easy shot.

He lined up for the kill and was ready to push the button when Gobber came hobbling down the alley. He looked very distressed and walked in front of Stoic. He spread his arms wide and looked in the air, straight at Hiccup. Even from this distance, Hiccup could see the expression of pain and regret on Gobber's face. The expression told him to just go. Knowing Stoic was lost to him without also killing the man he considered his father, Hiccup let out a primal scream. All the sorrow and anger and bitterness in the world was packed into the scream of this boy. It was a sound that everyone in the village would remember for the rest of their lives. Many found it hard to be against Hiccup and many were afraid of the power he now wielded.

Anger still burning in his chest, Hiccup turned Toothless around and flew off into the night.

**A/N: Theme song for this chapter is "The Ludlows" from the Legends of the Fall soundtrack. I'm sorry this took even longer than the last chapter. I knew what I wanted to accomplish this chapter but I just couldn't get myself to write it. Weird type of writer's block. Please read and review! The more reviews, the more motivated I'll be to finish Chapter 4 quicker! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: I'm sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter. Life got really busy and I ran out of time to write. But, I'm back and should have time now for a while. Please review, especially if I'm on your alert list and even if you have reviewed before. Reviews not only let me know that you want more story, but let me know what you think I could do better and what you would all like to see happen. Granted, the structure and arc is certainly finished, but there's some wiggle room. Thanks so much for reading!**

**Mjollnir is Norse for "Thor's Hammer"**

**Thanks to my beta reader: CelloDrew**

* * *

**If Only You'd Listened**

**Chapter 4**

_ Where did the years go?_

Sunshine rose over the east banks of the island of Berk. In the distance, a small group of hunters were returning from a trip around to the opposite side of the island. They walked together carrying their kills and laughing at some unknown joke. Among the group could be seen Fishlegs and Tuffnut. Snotlout was leading the group. The men seemed jovial and happy with their hunting.

On the cliff face of Berk, watching the small figures of the returning hunting group, Stoic smiled. It was a good kill and the village would have plenty of food for a good while. The village seemed to have a good supply of food most weeks now. There were some great new Vikings and the dragon raids had slowed in past weeks. Stoic took a moment (now rare) to think about his lost son.

Seven years had passed since his son had nearly killed him. No one in the village had seen nor heard from Hiccup since that night. As far as Stoic knew, or rather hoped, Hiccup was dead. His life would be considerably easier if Hiccup never showed his face in Berk again. That conflict had taken a serious toll on Stoic and his leadership in the village.

The first group that had left Berk left before Hiccup had returned and set fire to many homes and murdered several Viking archers. That group was rather small and was comprised mostly of couples with young children, as well as Astrid's parents. Almost immediately after Hiccup attacked Stoic, another larger group left. Since then, several more groups had left, both known to Stoic and unknown.

After the first couple of groups left, Stoic declared it treason to abandon the clan. When the next group tried to leave, his anger and frustration got the better of him and he had the majority of the adults killed as an example. The children were passed to other, more loyal families to raise. After that, groups had to leave under the cover of night. That all happened years ago.

There was still a good deal of the villagers left. At this point, those that remained were either completely loyal to Stoic or completely terrified of him. Really, this worked to Stoic's favor. His orders were now obeyed immediately and without question. He had been able to raise those kids, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs into very prosperous Vikings. In fact, Snotlout was his third in command behind Gobber. The others were officers.

No one second guessed his decisions anymore and that suited him just fine. He had been merciful before Hiccup's departure; but after that debacle, he couldn't afford such emotional weakness as mercy. Mercy was why so many had perished at that dragon's… no… at his son's hands. There was no room in the cruel world for mercy, and his leadership showed it.

If anyone stepped out of line or failed to fulfill their responsibilities, they were met with harsh punishment. Of course this change in rule didn't happen overnight; but instead like a soup slowly simmering, Stoic also grew more and more angry. He let the memory of everything that had been taken from him fester and boil beneath his skin until it callused his heart to any real emotion.

Curiously, despite this emotional deadness, Stoic had found another wife. In the years since Hiccup's departure, Stoic decided to leave that part of his life behind. He would start anew. This meant also leaving behind the memory of his dead wife. Over time he began looking for another.

It had taken him quite some time to find a worthy woman. Many of the men that were loyal to him even offered him their wives. The small part of Stoic that still loved his previous wife was a little disgusted by these men so willingly giving up their spouses. Still, the generous offers exhibited loyalty beyond measure; that was good.

No, Stoic would not take a wife from someone else. His new wife had to be as pure a Viking as any. She was to be something that was his and his alone. He courted many women over the next few years with only one outlasting the others. She was the complete opposite of his first wife.

His first wife had been kind and loving. A gentle Viking well suited for raising Hiccup. Perhaps that was one reason Hiccup had grown up so soft. He loved his first wife beyond measure and, at the time, appreciated her difference to the normal Viking women.

The woman to whom he was now married couldn't have been more different. She was bred of the same stock that he was; big, muscular, and strong willed. She'd just as soon kill a dragon as eat her breakfast. In fact, this she did quite often. During the increasingly rare dragon attacks, Stoic was hard pressed to be the kill leader next to his wife. She was as viscous and certainly as terrifying as Stoic himself.

This, of course, worked out to Stoic's advantage. While he was busy strong arming the men into compliance, she could do the same with the women. He hadn't planned it this way, but it seemed like Odin's will. She also had one hell of an ugly Viking name; PigSpit.

Despite her considerably gruff exterior, Stoic loved her in his own way. It wasn't as pure as his first wife, but nonetheless he could finally find some semblance of happiness again. She too, seemed to love Stoic and the two of them ruled efficiently and ruthlessly over the Viking people of Berk.

Adding to his legacy, PigSpit bore Stoic a son. Mjollnir, as Stoic proudly named him, was now two years old. Stoic couldn't be more pleased with his son. Even at two years of age, he was exhibiting wonderful Viking traits. His arms were considerably more bulky then the rest of his body and he could already chew through pebbles. Stoic had even put a Terrible Terror in his crib, which Mjollnir had killed quickly.

Standing now at the top of the cliff watching the hunters bringing in their kill, Stoic turned and walked back into the Village proper. Those seven years had been kind to Stoic and his ambitions. He fancied his problems over. With a smile on his face, he walked up the hill toward his house.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"'Spit, I'm back!"

Stoic closed the massive wooden door shutting off his home from the world. Out of the back room came sprinting a little ball of energy and loudness. Stoic picked his son up and chuckled to himself.

"Daddy!" Mjollnir shouted with glee. In his hands were a club and a dragon skull. It was obvious his son had been practicing his already keen dragon killing skills. This boy would be one to challenge the gods themselves. Stoic smiled at his fortune.

"Where is Mommy, Nir?" He said, setting the boy down.

The small lump of energy bound out of the room without a response. Stoic chuckled quietly again to himself before walking toward the kitchen. Looking around on his way he noticed the differences to the house over the years. There was no longer any remnant of his previous life. He had burned all of Hiccup's things and buried their helmets next to his first wife. He knew Gobber visited every once in a while and laid flowers there for the both of them, but Stoic himself hadn't been in years.

He made sure that there was no physical reminder of that life in his domain. Though his wife knew the entire story, she never mentioned it. Stoic wasn't sure why he was dwelling on his past more often now. Odin must be messing with him.

PigSpit came around the corner holding their son. Nir was jabbering to himself happily and PigSpit gave Stoic one of her rare smiles. Despite her yellow and cracked teeth, Stoic couldn't help but admit to himself that he loved her smile. In those brief moments in time, he was allowed to be his old self again. His heart exposed itself to her for the shortest second before her smile faded and with it, his heart.

"How was the hunt?" She asked setting Mjollnir on the ground. He shot off into the other room again. She sat at the long dining table and Stoic followed suit.

"It looked good. Snotlout seemed to have led a successful hunt. The other young Vikings really look up to him. I'm glad he matured when he did."

As he spoke, PigSpit started sharpening a dagger. Her expression was stern with concentration. Stoic looked sadly at his wife and set his hand on hers. Her eyes momentarily betrayed her annoyance with her husband's interruption of her work.

"Hey, hon." Stoic spoke up. PigSpit stopped and set the dagger on the table. His expression caught her off guard.

"You know I love you, right?" Stoic asked; his voice shaking just slightly. There was an almost imperceptible tightening of his hands around hers.

"Of course, Stoic." Her eyes returned to the dagger. As she resumed sharpening, she added, without looking up, "I love you too."

The words felt like icy water running over his skin. He attributed her lack of visible emotion to her being a strong Viking woman, but it still stun slightly. However, he knew there was no chance at betrayal from PigSpit. She enjoyed her status in the village and at least enjoyed Stoic's company. Besides that, he was sure she loved Mjollnir as much as he did.

With that thought in mind, he leaned forward and kissed his wife before getting up from the table. He took another glance at PigSpit as he walked into the backroom to find Nir. He was sitting in a corner, facing outward and repeatedly bashing the dragon skull he had placed on the ground. He had a boyish and jovial smile as he did so. Stoic quietly approached, as Nir had not noticed his presence yet. As he observed his young son exhibiting youthful Viking violence, his skin was washed in warmth to replace the icy cold his wife had just thrown on him.

Stoic stooped behind the wrought iron stove and kept in the shadows. Soon, Nir stood up and began speaking to himself in the gibberish of a toddler. In one hand, Nir was swinging the skull about the room complete with "whooshing" noises. In the other hand, Nir was swinging the infant sized club. It was obvious to Stoic that Nir was now engaged in an epic battle for the survival of nothing less than all of mankind. Nir finally allowed his club hand to smash the skull and he let the bone drop to the ground. He was in the middle of congratulating himself on his heroic victory over the immortal beast when Stoic stomped out of the darkness.

Nir quickly turned and an impish grin spread across his lips upon recognizing his new foe. Stoic unleashed a guttural and feral growl and got down on all fours. Nir kicked the forgotten skull of his fallen adversary to the side and rushed his new enemy. Stoic braced himself and allowed Nir to club him straight across the forehead. He feigned pain and allowed Nir to get in a couple more hits before he launched his counter attacked. He then faked a left side dive and as Nir began to guard against it, Stoic instead dived to his son's right. His left arm grabbed Nir and the club flew from his tiny hands.

Nir was giggling and kicking in happiness while Stoic, still growling, was tickling him. He continued the attack for a few more seconds before setting his son down and retreating. Nir had the presence of mind to go for the club, but Stoic already stood between the hero and his weapon. Unperturbed by his enemy's thoughtfulness to block access to his weapon, Nir decided that a distraction was the best course of action.

The young hero ran from this small room of the castle, which was the site of this epic struggle, to the massive dining room. His mother, the Queen, was sitting at their gigantic table sharpening his other weapons. He could hear the monster stomping behind him, knowing the beast had taken the bait. He tried to warn his mother of the impending danger, but she insisted on continuing work on his weaponry; for she was a brave woman. Knowing the beast would be close behind; he turned the next corner to arrive back in the small room. It was obvious to Nir, the Mighty, that the monster had no knowledge of the second entrance to this room.

As Nir entered, he could see his weapon across the open space. He ran through the room glancing back over his shoulder intent on catching the monster as he entered. As he turned back to the weapon, he came to a halt, surprised. The monster was standing in front of him. He guessed the monster had tricked him and had stayed near the other entrance waiting for his return. In a slow and tragically heroic death scene, (and amidst plenty of raucous laughter) the hero was murdered by the dreaded tickle monster.

Queen PigSpit came around the corner to witness the brave death of her son, the hero. She smiled at Stoic and Nir rolling around playfully laughing. Despite her general Viking coldness, she appreciated the happiness she saw in Stoic when he was around their son. It was nice to see the change in Stoic that only she could witness in these private times. To everyone else in the village, Stoic was stern and merciless, but she alone could delight in his occasional emotional openness. She could only assume, based on his closed-ness about Hiccup, that the two hadn't shared nearly as intimate a relationship. It was obvious, though, seeing Hiccup's lack of Viking prowess, even as a child.

"No! My heroic son!" The Queen bellowed at the monster as she watched Nir the Mighty breathed his last. She joined the fray and returned fire at the dreaded tickle monster. The presence of his mother, the Queen, seemed to invigorate the hero and he watched as the Queen seemed to best the monster. In an odd turn of events, it seems that the attack the tickle monster hates most is, in fact, tickling. The Queen defeated the monster with his own weapon. As the monster lay dying, the hero was given the precious tonic of life, a kiss on the cheek, and he was revived. The two walked triumphantly into the next room. Little did they know that as they left, the monster regained his composure and slid back into the darkness, smiling to himself.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

While the epic battle between Nir the Mighty and the monster was being waged, the small band of familiar hunters was returning from the several days trip around the island.

The dragons had only ever attacked the Viking's food supplies on the island. It had apparently never occurred to them to scavenge the rest of the island. Due to several generations of this, most of the game had migrated to the opposite side of the island. For the hunters, this was a pain as a round trip of the island took around a week. Each group could only carry so much meat back to the village and so several groups would go out, each one staggered by a couple of days from the previous.

Each group had a lead and was assigned a total of ten Vikings. This particular group had become Stoic's go-to Vikings when he needed a job done. Snotlout was his most trusted man behind Gobber. He had proven himself apt in many battles and had been shown as loyal. He was well liked by the people of the village and was much kinder than Stoic. He didn't have the intelligence of Gobber, but he more than made up for that in brute strength.

Snotlout had chosen his boyhood friends, Tuffnut and Fishlegs as his officers. While Tuffnut had certainly not matured like he had, Snotlout still placed a great amount of trust in him and relied on his fighting ability, which had really come into its own over the years. Fishlegs served as his intelligence, often coming up with wartime strategies against the dragons and the occasional human invasion attempt from neighboring settlements. While not the most physically proficient, Fishlegs had proven that sometimes brain is better than brawn.

The others in Snotlout's regiment had been chosen from the stock of Viking warriors by Stoic himself. He wanted at least one group to have uniformly strong Vikings. And that this group did. Most groups would occasionally lose a man or two over the months to over strong dragons, weather, or illness; but no one had been lost under Snotlout's watch. He was very proud of that fact.

This trip around the island had been fairly uneventful. The group managed to get nearly the maximum capacity of meat they could carry back and lost only a small amount to spoiling before they could preserve it. All in all, Snotlout was very proud of this trip.

The group was approaching the lower levels of the piers of Berk now and those responsible for the dressing and storing of the supplies were coming out to meet them. As usual, Tuffnut and Fishlegs were busy bantering and cutting up much to the enjoyment of the rest of the group. He had to admit it; Snotlout enjoyed their occasionally immature sensibilities.

"Alright guys, settle down. We have to get this stuff ready before sundown."

With that, Tuffnut and Fishlegs snapped back to adults. The rest of the group fell in behind and they continued on toward the end of their mission. This respect was not out of fear, as it was with Stoic, it was out of admiration.

The ordeal with Hiccup had a profound maturing effect on him. He was there the night Astrid was murdered and watched the destroyed Hiccup fly off into the night. He changed a lot that night, resolving not only to be a better person and Viking, but also to find love like Hiccup's. He was now not only in high standing with Stoic, but with the entire village. Over the years, Snotlout had saved the lives of many of their friends and families. During attacks on Berk, coming through with crucial supplies in the dead of winter, or just generally being helpful to the villagers.

His marriage to Ruffnut had been a rather large event in the village. While Ruffnut still had a jagged personality, she was as well liked as Snotlout was. Along with her husband and brother, she had her fair share of successful war stories. She had more scars than most, but she liked it that way. While she was certainly very feminine on the inside and around Snotlout, she liked to keep up the masculine rocky exterior around the rest of the villagers. Their wedding had been one of the first truly happy events for the village in the couple of years following the tragic events of Hiccup and his dragon.

The hunting party dropped off their kill with the proper workers and made their way up the tall wooden stairs to the village proper. Most of the group headed off toward their homes and their much deserved rest. Tuffnut and Fishlegs followed Snotlout up to Stoic's hut to report in. The sun had set and the darkness of twilight was devouring the surroundings.

After a couple of knocks, Stoic appeared at the door and allowed the three in. To their surprise, Gobber was already sitting at the table. He was holding the small Mjollnir on his knee, bouncing him up and down. At the sight of the three, he set the small boy on the ground and sent him off to find his mother.

"Oy, Snotlout! The three of you sure are a sight for these eyes." Gobber said happily, welcoming them to sit down. Stoic smiled, but remained quiet. Gobber continued, "It looks like you've become a fine leader. I'd never have guessed it!"

Snotlout shot a friendly grin his way and took his seat. The meeting was customary for all hunting party leaders and acted as a short debriefing of the current state of the island. Stoic liked to keep tabs on certain animal population levels and on any news of strange events. He found that having these meetings every few days as each group came in kept him satisfactorily up to date with island affairs outside of the village.

These three in particular held special interest for Stoic. They were the only group leaders that Stoic would inquire the following:

"Any sign of him?"

The tone around the table became tense and nearly palpable. Snotlout was the only one to speak up.

"No sir. We made sure to take the detour to the cove he used and spoke with the lookout group hidden there. We brought two men of that group back and left the two replacements there. They are currently on four week rotations of six men. None of the outposts have seen any sign of him either."

The others nervously glanced at each other and back around to Snot and Stoic. The two were locked in a serious gaze and Snotlout ventured slightly off the norm.

"Stoic, should we really be keeping men all over the island to look out for someone that hasn't been seen on the island in over seven years,"

The huge fist of the Berk's chief slammed against the table.

"You are out of line, Snotlout. It is my order to keep those men there and they serve the mission well." The anger behind his eyes shone crystal clear.

"Of course. I'm sorry, sir." Snotlout quickly replied, hoping to abate the damage.

Stoic calmed and after listing out the supplies procured over the trip, sent the three home. Once outside, the three men parted ways; but not before Tuffnut, of course, made a quip about his sister and Snotlout. As he was eventually left alone, thoughts began swirling around in Snotlout's head. His loyalty was beyond question, but he could not understand Stoic's demanding on this issue. With a mild sense of foreboding, he made his way home to his wife.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Ruff! I'm home!"

Snotlout unintentionally slammed the front door shut.

"Quit slamming the damned door!"

Snotlout winced slightly at the booming voice of his wife from the other room. He set his hunting gear down next to a small table in the main room and took a seat. Carefully, he pulled his hunting knife, spear, and arrows from the ground.

He eyed the knife with a warm smile; it had been his father's. His relationship with his father had been just as strained as any other Viking youth. Growing up with a brute for a father doesn't exactly do wonders for one's social skills. Still, Snotlout and his father had made up shortly before his father had been killed in battle.

It was a blessing afforded to few Vikings in Berk to have reconciled with a father before their death. Each day, when Snotlout looked at his hunting knife, he lovingly remembered his father. Snotlout set the knife on the table and grabbed a cloth from his satchel.

He had washed the blood of the kill off in a river, as was his custom, but now it needed to be properly cleaned. He would clean the small amount of dried blood on the hilt before oiling and drying it. If needed, he would sharpen the edges. This only rarely happened as he was skilled with a knife. He knew how to avoid hitting bones and other hard things when fighting dragons or hunting.

He examined the edges and found they were just as sharp as they had been a week previously. With a smile, he oiled the blade, wiped it down, and left it out to dry.

Next, Snotlout grabbed his spear. It would take little maintenance to maintain this spear. Ruffnut had crafted it for him as a wedding gift and, truth be told, it wasn't a terribly sturdy spear. Still, he took it out every hunting trip and had even made a kill or two with it. This weapon he kept close to remind him of the woman he loved. Love in a marriage was also a blessing few in Berk received.

Lastly, he removed from his quiver two arrows that were streaked with dried blood. He cleaned and oiled the metal tips and removed one tip from its arrow. The arrow had broken when being removed from the boar. To his right was a tall container housing many tipless arrow staves. He grabbed a fresh one and attached the tip to the end. With his freshly filled quiver, Snotlout had finished his post hunt cleaning.

He could see the setting sun through the window to his right. It was a beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, for years sunsets only reminded him of the night Hiccup left and the oppression it had brought to Berk. Despite that, he took a second to thank Odin for the bountiful hunt, for his father, and for his wife. He took one last glance at the departing sun before standing and heading into the back room.

With a smile on his face, he entered to see Ruffnut lying in bed; a bump rising in the covers over her abdomen.

"How are my girls?" He asked, smiling mischievously.

"I told you, we are having a boy."

Ruffnut looked angrily at her husband. Her expression was intense and when she saw the smile on his face, it lightened. The two smiled at each other as Snotlout approached the bed and planted a kiss on his wife's forehead. They embraced and Ruffnut made room for Snotlout to sit next to her on the bed.

"I love you, Ruff," Snotlout said, placing his hands on her plump belly.

She placed her hands lovingly on his.

"I love you too, Snot," she chuckled as she said it and Snotlout smiled.

It had been a running gag of theirs since they had been married. While he had called her Ruff since they were kids (most people called her Ruff), she had only started calling him Snot since they'd been married. She wondered why she had never thought of it before, because Snot was a funny nickname.

"So, how'd the hunting trip go? How do they like their new leader?" She asked, hands still holding his above their growing child.

"It went well. We brought back a lot of supplies. Everyone seems to like me well enough. Stoic even said we did a great job! I hope we can keep up to his expectations."

"Ha! Who knew that you'd make a great leader? Man, we sure did mature a lot over the last few years." Ruffnut was staring at the wall in front of the bed deep in thought.

"Yea, having your dad die will do that to you." Snotlout winced a little as he said it and Ruffnut wrapped her arm around him.

Hah. Watching your leader viciously attack his own son and kill any dissenters will do that to you. Ruffnut thought coldly.

The young couple smiled at each other and snuggled in close, enjoying each other's company. Her scent making Snotlout feel like everything in the world was perfect as long as they were together. Ruffnut feeling the life inside her move as she neared her husband; and the comfort that brought. The two cuddled like that in silence for a long time until they had passed into sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The sun had set in Berk.

Unlike in the past, villagers of Berk now felt safe enough to walk around after dark. Those dragon attacks that did occur (and they were becoming rarer) usually weren't as bad as they used to be. Houses were typically still destroyed, but the attacks didn't last long and food usually wasn't stolen in nearly as high amounts. Even the number of houses destroyed seemed less.

However, the villagers had stopped immediately rebuilding the houses that were destroyed. If they rebuilt, the next night the dragons would attack the same building again and then leave. It was frustrating, but they developed a system. If they destroyed a building, wait for a few weeks and then rebuild it. By then it seemed as if the dragons had forgotten about it.

Fishlegs and Tuffnut walked through the town toward the tavern. It had been a successful hunt and they needed some relaxation. The two had become friends over the years. Despite Tuffnut spending the good part of their childhood taunting Fishlegs, the two had bonded.

When Ruffnut started spending more and more time with Snotlout, that left Tuffnut as the bully without a partner in crime. Ruff matured quickly and stopped playing pranks with him. It forced him to grow up. He put his energy toward learning archery and sword fighting.

Though Ruffnut would deny it any day, most people would agree that Tuffnut had become pretty good with his weapons of choice. All of this had led to a good friendship with Fishlegs.

Fishlegs had always been looked at as goofy kid because of his awkward size, but also because of his deep knowledge of dragons. Tuffnut and Fishlegs had been sent together with a hunting party shortly after the Hiccup incident seven years ago.

On that trip, the two had been fighting and wandered away from camp. Little did they know that a dragon had been following the hunting party, waiting for someone to wander off alone for an easy snack.

To the dragon, the duo was comprised of an awkward kid with little fighting prowess and a skinny kid with a stupid look on his face. They would be easy pickings.

The beast followed the two boys as they broke away from the rest of the humans. It was dark in this part of the forest and the humans had no idea they were being stalked. The dragon watched the boys as they yelled at each other and occasionally threw punches. Whatever they were fighting about, it was a big deal. After several minutes of them bickering further and further into the forest, the skinny one threw a punch and knocked the fat one down.

The dragon watched as the skinny human stood over the fat one and laughed while the fat one held his bleeding nose. The sight and smell of blood triggered the attack mechanism in the dragon and he readied himself for the kill.

Through the pain and blood, Fishlegs could see Tuffnut laughing above him. Anger clouded his thoughts and he readied a counter-attack. Just then, something yellow appeared in darkness behind the skinny boy. It looked as if a darkened sun was peaking through the trees.

Realization dawned on Fishlegs and he swung his legs out to trip Tuffnut. The gambit worked and scalding hot water shot just over the two boys heads. Tuffnut threw another angry punch at Fishlegs, not knowing what he had just been saved from. Fishlegs pointed at the yellow beast and gave Tuffnut a look that said, "Look, you idiot."

By now, the dragon was right over Tuffnut's body readying a fatal shot of boiling water. Tuffnut finally noticed the dragon and was frozen with fear, unable to move or speak. He visibly shook and emptied his bladder. Tears were welling beneath his eyes and he prayed to Odin to accept his soul. He couldn't see Fishlegs anymore and assumed that he had run off into the woods while the running was good.

All of the dragon's attention was focused on this next blast. Being a dragon that fired boiling water rather than fire meant that shots took longer for the dragon to heat. Tuffnut could hear the boiling sound from within the dragon and braced himself for the blow. He shut his eyes and lamented that the last thing on this earth that he would see was the ugly face of this beast.

Pain erupted seconds later as his face lit up with an agony he had never known. Time seemed to slow, to allow him to feel every ounce of pain the dragon would give him before the end. He yelled with the pain of a thousand daggers impaling his face. If his eyes had been opened, he was sure they'd have burnt out of his skull by now. Beneath this torture, he felt a thump across his body. Something heavy had dropped across him.

The excruciating pain still seared his face, but death did not come. He chanced an eye open and was shocked to see the body of the dragon lying across him. To his right, he could see Fishlegs with a giant heart in his hands. He was covered in blood but had a smile on his face. He walked over to Tuffnut, who was still underneath the corpse of the Scaldron.

"I remembered that Scaldron's have a weak spot just in front of their back legs. It's membranous back there so that they can soak up water easier. Perfect place for a broadsword to pierce. You're lucky that I got him and emptied his water reserves before he could boil you up," Fishlegs smiled and started moving the long neck of the creature off Tuffnut.

"Before he could get me? My face is on fire! He had to have gotten me!" Tuffnut yelled rather harshly.

"Oh get off it. You're fine. I see where maybe two drops hit your face. I mean, just look at my hands!"

Fishlegs shoved his hands forward and Tuffnut could see the damage. It was obvious that when Fishlegs had stabbed the dragon, its boiling water reserves had emptied through the wound and spilled all over his hands.

"… Thank you, Fish." Tuffnut managed to say as he laid back and savored being alive.

When the two returned to the camp, Fishlegs had presented the heart of the Scaldron to their hunting leader. The group recovered the body; field dressed it, and returned home with the spoils. Thanks to their antics, the hunting group got to come home several days early and spend some extra time with their families.

From that day on, Tuffnut was never mean to Fishlegs again. The two become good friends and were an excellent hunting team. They moved up the chain of command just behind Snotlout and Ruffnut. They were now an excellent team together with Snotlout, being three separate parts of a stronger more intelligent whole. Together, they had beaten overwhelming odds on more than one occasion.

Tonight, after the hunt, and while drinking up in the tavern, they reminisced about the past and postured on how ugly Snot and Ruff's kid would be. They laughed together long into the night.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The night was pitch black. Silence clung to the air and the stillness was complete.

Ruffnut and Snotlout lay in bed asleep. Their child kicked slightly against Ruffnut's ribs but didn't wake her. Snotlout had an arm over her side and a hand on her enlarged abdomen. Moonlight shown in through the open curtains and threw a blanket of soft light across the family. Their dreams were peaceful and happy.

Across the village, Tuffnut and Fishlegs slept with their heads down on a tavern table. The two had enjoyed their ale until they succumbed to it. The bar tender was used to these two and gave the men a wry grin as he dried off freshly washed mugs. He would wake them up and send them on their way as he was leaving for the evening; they were usually good about paying their evening's tab and leaving a bit extra for his troubles.

At the head of the village, Stoic slept less peacefully than Snotlout. His dreams had been troubled lately; and to top it off, today had been the day for news on Hiccup. Despite the lack of any real news in years, his mind wouldn't let him forget the trauma unleashed on the village those years ago.

Gobber also was having a rough time sleeping. He was always disappointed to hear nothing from the outposts about Hiccup. Being the eternal optimist was tough sometimes. In his heart, he still held out hope that Hiccup and Stoic could be reconciled; even if his mind told him otherwise. To him, the village had been too quiet on most days since Hiccup left. Tonight, the quiet was almost deafening.

The bartender had finished drying the last of his dishes and was preparing to leave. He shook Fishlegs who barely opened his eyes. He mumbled something and the bartender chuckled. Before he could shake Fishlegs again, the entire building shook. The man fell over and the heat in the room erupted. Fishlegs jumped straight up.

It seemed to Fishlegs that the Earth was engulfed in flames. In fact, it was. The bar around them had been nearly entirely incinerated and the flames were quickly encroaching on the three men. It was all Fishlegs could do to hoist the bartender from the group and wake Tuffnut. The three scrambled quickly from the building to the cool air outside. They glanced up in fear.

The explosion at the tavern shook the entire village. Snotlout was nearly thrown out of bed by his surprised wife. The soft moonlight that had encompassed them was replaced now with the rise and fall of firelight. Through their window, they could see the burning tavern and the buildings around it being swallowed up by the spreading flames.

Snotlout was now yelling now at his wife to get into the stone cellar they had below the house. More explosions rocked the foundation and the thunderous noise of burning wreckage closed in on them. Ruffnut had fear in her eyes and was clutching her stomach. Her husband glanced at her stomach with terror in his eyes, but she caught his glance and gave him a reassuring nod that their child was ok. A brief expression of relief crossed his face and he clutched her to aid her descent into the cellar.

Her foot was on the top step when the house shook again and the wooden ceiling erupted into flames. The heat poured over the two as she lost her footing and slid several steps down. Snotlout kept a tight grip under her arms and managed to keep her from falling headlong down the stairs. The noise now was deafening. The two could only hear the sound of their burning home.

At the bottom of the stone steps, he rolled the large boulder serving as a doorway from the path to allow her entrance. Once she was inside, she held her hand to her husband; but with sadness in his eyes, he pulled his hand back. She saw him yell what looked like "I love you," but she could not hear him. With tears in his eyes, he rolled the boulder back into place.

The room was cool but dark. Only slivers of firelight broke in through the edges of the rock doorway. Most houses in Berk had a similar type of underground stone room. These places protected the young and the weak when such attacks happened. Fire could not get at the occupants and the room was naturally cool enough to suppress the heat of the flames. Each family kept some amount of food stocked below in case enough of the house collapsing in front of the doorway, causing the rescuers to take a few days to reach their families.

Ruffnut took a seat on a cold slab of rock and cried silently to herself, praying to Odin for the safety of her husband and child.

The first blast shook Stoic from his nightmares. Equipped with his Viking instinct it was a matter of seconds before he was wide awake and fully prepared for battle. His wife took only seconds longer before she was ready to fight as well. With a pained expression, Stoic asked her not to fight, but instead to keep Mjollnir safe. She relented and minutes later Stoic was sprinting from his home.

By the time he reached Gobber's smithy, the foundry was already alight and Gobber was prepping weapons. Several Vikings were trading in duller weapons for sharper ones. Stoic ran up to Gobber.

"Any sign of Night Furys?" He hollered across the counter top to Gobber.

The smith lifted the goggles from his eyes and peered incredulously at his chief.

"Of course not. There hasn't been a sign of a Night Fury in years." At this, he went back to work.

It was clear to Stoic from this vantage point that the damage was already fairly extensive. A quick glance and he figured six houses had been hit directly with fire blasts. Besides that, the tavern and several buildings around it were engulfed in flames. Another quick glance summed up the battlement positions. Men were preparing the giant torches to light the sky and several were already firing the trebuchets. Against his better judgment, an assortment of Hiccup's spring loaded weapons had been placed along the outer walls. Several men stood firing netting into the night sky.

Curiously, no dragons had landed yet and thus were out of range of the blunt weapons. This severely limited the amount of Vikings that could affectively attack. The attacks would have to come primarily from archers and those wielding the large net cannons. A few of the Vikings were proficient at axe throwing, but that number was small.

By this point, Snotlout had made his way to the front lines. As he had left his house, he turned in time to see the supports give way and the walls come crushing down. He prayed to Odin that his beloved was in the stone room. It took all his will power to continue on to the front lines. It would do Ruffnut no good to rescue her only to be killed by the dragons afterward.

He managed to find Tuffnut and Fishlegs, who were helping the archers by bringing quivers of arrows. It was the best they could do if the dragons weren't going to land and attack head on.

As the night wore on Stoic noticed something odd about the dragon attack. None of the livestock had yet been attacked and the dragons weren't attacking the Vikings at all. In fact, it was hard to even see the dragons now.

They were flying in at steep angles, releasing their payload, and swiftly retreating. Besides that, the dragons that had thick enough underbellies to deflect arrows were flying in front and below the attacking dragons. They were acting as a shield. Smaller dragons flew just inside the shield dragons and only attacked the nets that were launched their way.

All in all, Stoic was surprised by their resourcefulness. They had never shown such tactical use of their abilities before. Besides that, why weren't they attacking the Vikings or stealing food? Stoic knew that far less food was stolen in recent years than past, but they had always taken at least some.

Stoic was simply observing, awestruck at the organized nature in which the dragons were attacking. He had no idea how to combat this. As he watched, a small squad of dragons came barreling straight at him. He easily dodged the blast but watched in dismay as most of Gobber's smithy was engulfed in flames.

The blacksmith came hobbling out of the burning building and waddled up to Stoic.

"Is it just me, or do these dragons seemed to be being led by somethin?" Gobber said, only half joking.

"Or some_one_…"

The words came so coldly out of Stoic's mouth that Gobber could have sworn he saw the chief's breath, despite the heat of the flames.

Two more cadres of dragons blasted the row of houses to their left. The damage was far worse then it had been in many years. The noise of the burning village was roaring and few Vikings could hear anything but. The ground was shaking almost continuously now from the repeated explosions of fire slamming into still more buildings. Screams echoed through the village and the smithy directly behind Stoic and Gobber exploded in blueish fire. The explosion threw the two across the walkway and into the side of a burning house.

As the building exploded, a Monstrous Nightmare flew in from the opposite direction and landed feet from the crumpled bodies of the village's two leaders. Gobber had landed on top of Stoic and a beam supporting the roof was about to collapse. He was too stunned to move as the beam broke in half and came speeding toward his chest. The broken end of the plank planted itself through his right pectoral.

The pain was excruciating. Gobber groaned and Stoic looked afraid for their lives. Beside them they could see the approaching dragon. It looked livid and snapped at the air around the two. It was clear this was why the dragons were attacking. All other sound seemed to dim in the ears of the two Vikings, fearing what this blood raged dragon would do.

Until they heard an almost forgotten sound.

An ear piercing screech came from the inky blackness of the smoke ridden sky.

At the sound, the Monstrous Nightmare's head shrank back and seemed to cower, as if afraid of the noise from the darkness. Above the screaming of the unseen dragon, villagers thought they could hear the angry cries of some long dead person from the back of their memories.

The dragon fired two more blasts that smashed the ground close enough to singe Gobber and Stoic's hair. The Monstrous Nightmare then roared with an angry, defeated ferocity. With that, the dragon spread its wings and took off into the night. An eerie unnatural silence claimed the air and it was clear the dragons were gone.

The only sound left was the razing of the buildings in town. Snotlout immediately turned and sprinted back to his collapsed home. Tuffnut and Fishlegs merely stood in disbelief at the destruction before their eyes.

Stoic tried painfully to push Gobber off him, but found that the strength was drained from his body. Watching the flames inch closer to he and his best friend, Stoic silently cursed his son and passed out from the blood loss.

**Thanks for reading and please, please review!**


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